Lokomotion no. 189 912, showing off its "Cream - Moving Europe" livery, waits in a siding on the western side of Brenner(o) to replace comrades 186 285 & 193 662.

Goober Pyle replaced Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show in 1965. Gomer (Jim Nabors) spun off into the very successful Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Goober (George Lindsey) became a beloved member of The Andy Griffith Show.

 

Both The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. ended their runs by the late 1960s. While Mayberry R.F.D. continued from 1968 to 1971, where The Andy Griffith Show left off, the concept of returning Gomer to Mayberry was nixed, as the actor was given a CBS variety show of his own (which lasted two seasons). Gomer eventually returned, along with most of the original cast of The Andy Griffith Show, to the 1986 television movie Return to Mayberry. Gomer and Goober Pyle run a gas station/car repair shop called "G & G Garage", implying that Gomer's Marine career had, at some point, ended.

 

Goober appeared on 86 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show from 1964 through 1968, one episode each of Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. and The New Andy Griffith Show and then on 54 episodes of Mayberry R.F.D. until its cancellation in 1971. Following that, Lindsey spent roughly 20 years playing the character on Hee Haw from 1972 through 1992. Goober also appeared in the 1978 television movie Goober & the Truckers Paradise and the 1986 television reunion movie Return to Mayberry alongside his cousin Gomer for only the third time in television history (running the town's G 'n G gas station and auto repair shop). The characters also appeared together in one The Andy Griffith Show episode and one "Gomer Pyle USMC" episode.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 28-Jan-22 (DeNoise AI).

 

This aircraft was delivered to Australian Airlines as VH-TAY in Jun-87. Australian Airlines was merged into QANTAS Airways in Oct-93.

 

It continued in service until it was leased to Jet Connect (New Zealand) as ZK-JNA in Nov-03. It was returned to QANTAS in Jun-06 as VH-XMR and stored at Avolon.

 

The aircraft was converted to freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door at Avolon in Jan-07 and leased to Australian Air Express, operating on behalf of QANTAS Freight.

 

It was repainted in full QANTAS livery with 'QANTAS Freight' titles in Oct-14. The QANTAS Freight titles were replaced by 'Australia Post' titles in Jul-20. It's now 35 years old! Current, updated 28-Jan-22.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

Following good performance from the pioneering diesel-hydraulic locomotive the DB Class V 80, the Deutsche Bundesbahn planned in 1953 to build several types of new diesel locomotive, primarily to replace steam powered locomotives.These were: V 60, and V 65, both shunters, the V 65.2, also for shunting as well as light freight trains, the heavy DB Class V 200, for express passenger trains, and the universal V 160 for both freight and passenger work on the main network.

 

The new V 160 class was a central piece in this line-up, because it would replace important steam-powered engines such as the BR 03, BR 23, BR 38.10 (former Prussian P 8 class), BR 39 (ex P 10), BR 50, BR 57 (ex G 10) and BR 78 (ex T 18). Steam heating for passenger coaches was necessary, and a top speed of 120 km/h was specified. Initially, a 1,600 hp powerplant, consisting of two engines of the same type as in the light V 80 was planned, the first newly developed diesel locomotive built for main line service by the Deutsche Bundesbahn (but only built in 10 examples). This dual engine arrangement had already been successfully introduced in the heavy V 200, which was initially powered by two 1,000 hp diesel engines. However, it was soon realized, that, if a single, high-powered engine could be used, weight, complexity and therefore maintenance and other costs would be considerably reduced. The V 160’s design was modified accordingly and a single MTU V16 four-stroke diesel engine was chosen. Both two-axle bogies were powered via drive shafts from a two speed hydraulic drive from Voith, which offered a compromise between the requested high speed for light passenger trains and the alternative reduced second gear with lower top speed, but much higher torque, for freight train service. Gears could only be switched when the locomotive was standing still, though.

 

In the spring of 1956, V 160 development began at Krupp. Welded steel components along with other lightweight materials were used to keep the axle load well below 20t, so that the V 160 could be safely operated on secondary lines. However, in the main production series of locomotives, some of the lighter weight welded construction was abandoned in favor of less expensively produced components - leading to an increase in axle weight from ~18.5 to ~20t, which was still acceptable but lowered overall production costs. This was furthermore not regarded as a major problem since the DB perspectively started to abandon branch lines, switching to more economical diesel multiple units or giving them up altogether towards the Seventies.

 

The first V 160 unit was delivered on 6 August 1960, with eight more following by 1962 from both Krupp and Henschel. These prototype units, due to their rounded, “busty” front end, were later to become unusual amongst the entire V 160 family and earned them the nickname “Lollo” (in allusion to Gina Lollobrigida). A final prototype V 160 010, the tenth, was manufactured by Henschel in 1963 and the first to feature the serial locomotives’ angled front end, which was inspired by the design of the super-heavy V 320 Henschel prototype.

 

Despite the single main engine, the V 160 was still a complex locomotive. In addition to the main engine, the V 160 featured a small, independent auxiliary diesel engine, driving a generator providing the 110 V electrical supply for lighting as well as driving an electric air compressor for the brakes. The steam heating apparatus, sourced from Hagenuk and powered by fuel oil, took up one end of the locomotive, between the engine and drivers cabin. It had the capacity to satisfactorily heat 10 coaches when the outside temperature was -10°C. For passenger train service, most V 160 locomotives were also equipped for push-pull operation, as well as for multiple working, controlled via a 36 pin control cable and respective sockets on the locomotives front ends.

 

The prototypes performed well, and volume production began, numbers V 160 011 to V 160 224 being built between 1964 and 1968 by Krupp, Henschel, KHD, Krauss-Maffei and MaK. The first V 160/216 locomotives entered service on the Hamburg to Lübeck line, working push-pull double decked passenger trains, replacing the BR 38.10 and BR 78 steam engines. The engines were also used on freight workings as well. On push-pull passenger working, the locomotives were sometimes found in the middle of the train - which facilitated easier separation of carriages en route.

 

By the time the 156th example was under completion, the Deutsche Bundesbahn changed its numbering system. From then on, the V 160 class were re-designated as Class (Baureihe = BR) 216, with the individual unit numbering continuing as before. Over the next decade, because of changing requirements – mostly in terms of increased power, speed as well as the requirement for electrical passenger heating – a number of related classes sprang up, the BR 210, 215, 217, 218 and 219. Although some were a little longer and carried additional components (e.g. an auxiliary jet engine), all of them were essentially based on the original V 160 and more than 800 machines of all types were eventually built.

 

Since the 1990s, the Bundesbahn’s BR 216 locomotives scope of work started to shift more on freight than on passenger trains because of the lack of steam-heated passenger stock. From 2000 onwards, the Deutsche Bahn AG’s BR 216 fleet was phased out, with the last locomotive being decommissioned in 2004.

Several locomotives were sold to private operators like rail construction companies and remained in frequent use, and some retired BR 216s were re-built and offered for sale, too. The first in the series of rebuilt Class 216s was called type “DH 1504” and created in 1998 by the firm 'On Rail'. Despite only little external changes, the result was an almost completely new locomotive, only the transmission, bogies and frame were saved from the original locomotive. The original V16 diesel engine with 1,370 kW (1.900 hp), was replaced with a lighter but more powerful 1500 kW (2,085 hp) V12 four-stroke diesel engine, also from MTU. On customer demand, a new electric Webasto heating system could be installed instead of the original steam heating system, making the DH 1504 capable of operating modern passenger trains, and for this purpose the units were also fitted for multiple working as well as for remote control operation (e.g. for shunting). Another option was additional ballast, so that the axle load could be kept at 20 tons for better traction. Otherwise, 18 t axle load was standard for the revamped DH 1504.

 

Since 1998, 6 of these locomotives were re-built for private operators in Germany. By late 2019, three DH 1504 locomotives were in the use of the Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen (OHE), two work for the Niederrheinische Verkehrsbetriebe (NIAG) and one for the Mindener Kreisbahnen (MKB). However, the biggest sales success for OnRail’s modernized BR 216 was the export to Poland, where the PKP (Polskie Koleje Państwowe, Polish State Railways). After its privatization in 2001, the PKP was looking for a low-cost replacement for its last ST-43 Class diesel electric freight locomotives of Romanian origin, which dated back to the 1960ies. Twenty DH 1504 locomotives for mixed duties were built by OnRail between 2001 and 2005 and entered PKP service as Class SU-29 (spalinowa uniwersalna = mixed-traffic diesel locomotive with hydraulic transmission and multiple-unit control). Their initial primary field of duty was the cross-border freight traffic on the east-west relation on the PKP “Polskie line Kolejowe”, the so-called “Niederschlesische Gütermagistrale”. Since 2005, this route had been expanded, electrified and became double-railed, so that the SU-29s gradually took over more and more passenger train duties on non-electrified major lines. The SU-29 machines are expected to remain in PKP service beyond 2030.

  

General characteristics:

Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge

UIC axle arrangement: B´B´

Overall length: 16,800 mm (52 ft 57⁄8 in)

Pivot distance: 8,600 mm

Bogie distance: 2,800 mm

Wheel diameter (when new): 1000 mm

Fuel supply: 3,800 l

Service weight: 80 t

 

Engine:

MTU 4000R20 V12diesel engine with 1500 kW (2,085 hp) at 1,800 RPM

 

Gearbox:

Voith L821rs 2-speed gearbox

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 120 km/h (75 mph) or 80 km/h (50 mph)

Torque: 235,2 kN

 

The kit and its assembly:

Well, this is a rather unusual what-if “build”, since this not a model kit as such but rather the conversion of a readymade H0 gauge model railway locomotive for the “Back into service” group build at whatifmodelers.com in late 2019.

 

The inspiration was not original, though: some time ago I stumbled across a gift set from the former East-German manufacturer Piko, apparently for the Polish market. It contained a set of double deck passenger wagons, and a (highly simplified, toy-like) German BR 216 in PKP markings. It was called SU-29 and carried a very crude and garish green livery with yellow front ends – inspired by real world PKP diesel locomotives, but… wrong. I found this so bizarre that it stuck in my mind. When I dug a little further, my surprise even grew when I found out that there were other national adaptations of this simple Piko BR 216 (e .g. for Denmark) and that Piko’s competitor Roco offered a similar BR 215 in PKP colors, too! This time, the fictional locomotive was designated SU-47 (which cannot be since this would indicate a locomotive with electric power transmission – poor job!), and it also wore a bright green livery with yellow front markings. Bizarre… And the PKP does NOT operate any BR 216 at all?!

 

However, with the GB topic in mind, I decided to create my own interpretation of this interesting topic – apparently, there’s a market for whiffy model locomotives? The basis became a 2nd hand Märklin 3075 (a BR 216 in the original red DB livery), not a big investment since this is a very common item.

In order to easy painting, the locomotive was disassembled into its major sections and the body stripped of any paint in a one-week bath in oven cleaner foam, a very mild and effective method.

 

The heavy metal chassis was not modified, it just received a visual update (see below).

 

The upper body underwent some cosmetic surgery, though, but nothing dramatic or structural, since the DH 1504 described above only differs in minor external details from the original BR 216. I decided to modify the front ends, especially the lights: Locomotives in PKP service tend to have VERY large lamps, and I tried to incorporate this characteristic feature through masks that were added over the original light conductors, scratched from styrene tube material.

In the course of this facial surgery, the molded handles at the lower front corners were lost. They were later replaced with three-dimensional silver wire, mounted into small holes that were drilled into the hull at the appropriate positions. Fiddly stuff, but I think the effort was worth it.

 

The original vent grills between the lower lamps were sanded away and covers for the multiple working cable adapters on the front ends added – scratched with small styrene profile bits.

For a cleaner, modern look, I removed the original decorative aluminum profile frame around the upper row of cooling louvers. The roof was modified, too: beyond the bigger headlight fairing, the exhaust for the auxiliary diesel engine was removed, as well as the chimney for the old steam heating system. The diesel engine’s exhaust pipes were lengthened (inspired by similar devices carried by DB BR 218), so that the fumes would be deviated away from the locomotive’s hull and the following wagons. Horns and a blade antenna for each driver’s cabin were added, too.

  

Painting and markings:

Both Piko and Roco V 160s in PKP markings look garish – righteously, though, since PKP locomotives used to carry for many years very striking colors, primarily a dark green body with a light green/teal contrast area on the flanks and yellow quick recognition front markings. However, I did not find any of the two model designs convincing, since they rather looked like a simple toy (Piko) or just wrong (Roco, with a surreal grass green contrast tone instead of the pale teal).

 

I rather went for something inspired by real world locomotives, like the PKP’s SU- and SP-45s. The basic design is an upper body with a dark green base (Humbrol 76, Uniform Green) and a pale green-grey area around the upper row of louvres (an individual mix of Humbrol 96 and 78). The kink under the front windows was used for waterline reference, the front section under the windows (in the dark green base) was painted in bright yellow (Humbrol 69) as a high-viz contrast, a typical feature of PKP locomotives. The chassis received a grey-green frame (somewhat visually stretching the locomotive) with bright red (Humbrol 19) headstocks, a nice color contrast to the green body and the yellow bib.

Silver 1.5mm decal stripes (TL Modellbau) were used to create a thin cheatline along and around the whole lower section. At some time I considered another cheatline between the light and dark green, but eventually ignored this idea because it would have looked too retro. The locomotive’s roof became medium grey (Revell 47).

 

The running gear and the tanks between the bogies were painted in very dark grey (Humbrol 67, similar to the original DB livery in RAL 7021) and weathered with a light black ink wash, some thinned Burnt Umbra (simulating dust and rust) plus some light dry-brushing with dark grey that emphasized the surface details. This used look was also taken to the upper body of the locomotive with watercolours (Grey, Black and some Sienna and Burnt Umbra) for a more natural look of daily service – rather subtle, and I emphasized the louvres, esp. on the light background, where they tended to disappear.

 

Individual markings consist of single decal letters in silver and white in various sizes (also TL Modellbau) for the locomotive’s registration code as well as of H0 scale catenary warnings from Nothaft Hobbybedarf, plus some generic stencils from various model decal sheets (incl. Cyrillic stencils from an 1:72 MiG-21 decal sheet…).

 

For a uniform finish I gave the locomotive an overall coat of matt acrylic varnish from the rattle can – it still has a slightly sheen finish and matches well the look of Märklin’s standard rolling stock.

  

A different kind of what-if project, but this has not been my first H0 scale locomotive conversion. The fictional PKP SU-29 looks a bit weird, with the garish paint scheme and the oversized headlights, but this strangeness makes this model IMHO quite convincing. The model is fully functional, even the light works well in the enlarged headlight fairings. Maybe I’ll sell it, since I do not have the appropriate model railway set at hand to effectively use it (which is also the reason for the rather limited scope of pictures of the finished item). And I am curious what people might be willing to pay for such a unique, fictional item?

 

Replacing an earlier photo from 2017 with a better version 02-Oct-20.

 

Operated on behalf of TAP Express by Portugalia Airlines.

 

Named: "Faro".

 

Embraer don't allocate test registrations when the aircraft is being delivered to a Brazilian airline. This aircraft was delivered to Air Lease Corporation and leased to TRiP Linhas Aereas as PP-PJO in Aug-11. TRiP was merged into Azul Linhas Aereas Brazileiras in May-12. The aircraft was stored in Apr-15. It was sub-leased to Portugalia Airlines as CS-TPQ and is operated on behalf of TAP Express. Current, updated (Oct-20).

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 25-Feb-25.

 

First flown in Mar-88 with the British Aerospace (Avro) test registration G-5-099, this aircraft was delivered to Trident Aviation Leasing and leased to Loganair as G-OLCA in Jul-88.

 

It was wet-leased to British Airways for three months between May / Jul-90 and wet-leased to NortJet (a Spanish charter airline) for four months between Sep / Nov-90. It was also wet-leased to AirSur (Spain) between Dec-90 / Feb-91.

 

The aircraft was returned to British Aerospace Asset Management in Nov-91 and stored until it was leased to Air UK for three months between Jan / Mar-92. A few days later it was leased to LAR Transregional (Portugal) and returned to the lessor in Oct-92.

 

It was immediately leased to Malmo Aviation (Sweden) and returned to the lessor in Feb-93. The aircraft was leased to Jersey European Airways in Mar-93 and was re-registered G-JEAJ in Sep-93. It was wet-leased to Malmo Aviation in Mar-98 and returned to Jersey European the following month.

 

In Jun-00 Jersey European was renamed British European Airways (the original British European [BEA] was merged with BOAC to form British Airways in 1974). This British European was renamed FlyBe Airlines in Jul-02.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored at Kemble, UK in Oct-06. It was ferried to Bacau, Romania in Mar-07 and converted to B.Ae 146-200QT standard with the addition of a main deck cargo door.

 

It was due to be leased to Amerer Air (Austria) as OE-IAA but the lease wasn't taken up and the aircraft was ferried to Southend, UK, in Jun-08 for further storage. It returned to Bacau in Dec-08 and returned to long-term storage. Converting it to a freighter appears to have been a waste of money as it was broken up at Bacau, Romania in 2015. Updated 25-Jan-23.

Replacing a digital photo with a better version 29-Dec-22.

 

'Real Norwegian Edvard Munch' tail livery.

 

This aircraft was delivered to a leasing company and leased to Air Caledonie International (Aircalin) as F-ODGX in Jun-89. It was returned to the lessor in May-04.

 

It was immediately sold to Airwork (New Zealand) Ltd as ZK-PLU and leased to Palau Micronesia Air in Jul-04. Unfortunately it didn't stay long and was returned to Airwork (NZ) Ltd at the end of Dec-04 and stored at Christchurch, New Zealand in Jan-05.

 

The aircraft was leased to Norwegian Air Shuttle as LN-KKS in Apr-05. It returned to the lessor in May-12 and was permanently retired at Stuttgart, AR, USA. The registration was cancelled the same month.

 

I also have a shot of this with Aircalin at ...

www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding/6237485227

It's always nice to see an Alx 400 when your out and about although in two years time they'll be no more as new buses will be coming to the east Midlands Fleet in 2026 according to the Nottinghamshire council in a £13 million investment which will see 10 single deck and 13 double decker electric buses replace them and presumably the Enviro 300s as well

 

One of Mansfield's Alx 400's, 18164 [XIL 1568) is seen arriving Into Mansfield Bus Station after working on the 16 from Clipstone Ward Road via Newlands, Forest Town and Ravensdale about to form a 7 to Oak Tree

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 11-Aug-18, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 22-Aug-26.

 

This aircraft was delivered to Irish Aerospace Ltd and leased to AeroCancun (Mexico) as XA-RPH in Nov-89. It was sub-leased to Oasis International Airlines (Spain), initially with the temporary Spanish registration EC-733 in May-91. It was re-registered EC-FFF in Aug-91.

 

The aircraft was returned to AeroCancun as XA-RPH in in Dec-91. It was wet-leased to Oasis International again between Jul/Oct-92. In May-94 it was wet-leased to Oasis International again. In Aug-94 AeroCancun returned the aircraft to the lessor and it was leased direct to Oasis International and re-registered EI-CKM.

 

It was returned to the lessor in Dec-94 and leased to Aero Lloyd (Germany) two weeks later. The German registration D-ALLW was assigned but not taken up and the lease continued as EI-CKM. The aircraft returned to the lessor in Mar-95 and was leased to Sunway Airlines (Turkey) as TC-INC in Apr-95.

 

It returned to the lessor as EI-CKM in Jul-97 and was stored. In Mar-98 the aircraft was leased to Meridiana SpA (Italy). Meridiana was merged with Eurofly to form MeridianaFly in Feb-10. It continued in service until it was retired and returned to the lessor in Nov-11.

 

It was stored at Marana, AZ, USA. The aircraft was permanently retired and sold to Pennant Aviation as N597SC in Mar-12 for parting out. It was last noted still at Marana in Nov-12.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 17-Oct-19.

 

Named: "A. Glazunov".

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWBD, this aircraft was delivered to GECAS as VP-BWI in Mar-04. It was returned to the lessor in Jan-14 and stored at Ostrava, Czech Republic. It was then leased to Rossiya Russian Airlines in Aug-14. Current, updated (Oct-19).

I replaced it . This is after my new edit. On the old one I uploaded earlier today, the quality sucked ass on the left side, so I spent like 20 minutes or so on the retouching part on iPhoto...it took to effing long...but it's worth it :) I know it's not perfect...'cause I don't wanna spend like an hour on it...but it's way better :)

 

Enjoy :)

   

On black

 

Twitter | Formspring

Garden City

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

In the period immediately after the Second World War the world found itself with hundreds of thousands of surplus aircraft and just as many surplus aviators. Most aircraft would meet the salvage blade and the smelter’s fiery furnace. Most pilots would return to civilian life, the bulk of them never to fly again.

 

With the plethora of military aircraft languishing in desert lots awaiting a certain fate, some of those disenfranchised aviators and aircraft designers would look to new growing markets for salvation. One of these emerging markets was the new-found requirement for fast and capable business transport aircraft for executives looking to link business interests across the vast distances of the nation. With few purpose-built business aircraft available for executives, medium bombers became the drug of choice for high flying big shots—fast, powerful and, with the right interior appointments, a visual statement of their success and power.

 

In early variants like the Executive, On Mark simply removed military equipment and replaced them with fairings and civil avionics, sealed the bomb bay doors, soundproofed the cabin, and added additional cabin windows. Later models had special wing spars designed to give more interior room, pressurization and equipment from bigger surplus aircraft such as DC-6 brakes and flat glass cockpit windows. It was an elegant mashing together of equipment, but it was not a true business aircraft.

 

In the Sixties, Jet Craft Ltd. of Las Vegas, Nevada, went for a different interpretation of the same topic: The company had purchased a number of former Royal Australian Air Force Vampire trainers and RCAF single-seaters, which were to be converted to a new design for a business aircraft called 'Mystery Jet', offering 4-8-seats.

 

Jet Craft worked with stellar British conversion experts Aviation Traders to do the structural design work. Aviation Traders Limited (ATL) was a war-surplus aircraft and spares trader formed in 1947. In 1949, it began maintaining aircraft used by some of Britain’s contemporary independent airlines on the Berlin Airlift. In the early 1950s, it branched out into aircraft conversions and manufacturing.

 

Aviation Traders worked on the drawings and the structural mock-ups. A full-scale mock-up of the Mystery Jet languished at Southend airport for a decade, trying to lure owners and operators into buying it. And this actually happened: about twenty former Vampire airframes were converted into Mystery Jet business aircraft, tailored to the customers' needs and desires.

 

The Mystery Jet was just what it looked like: a former De Havilland Vampire with a new, roomy nose section grafted onto it. The cabin was pressurized, and was available in two different lengths (130 and 160 inches long, with two or three rows of seats and reflected in the aircraft's title) and several window and door options - the most exotic option being the "Landaulet" cabin which featured a panoramic roof/window installation over the rear pair of seats (or, alternatively, a two-seat bench).

 

The original Goblin engine was retained, CG was retained due to the fact that the new cabin was, despite being considerably longer than the Vampire's nose, the biggest version being more than 8 feet longer. The new front section was much lighter, though, e. g. through the loss of the heavy cannons and their armament, as well as some more military avionics. The loss of fuel capacity through the enlarged cabin was compensated through fixed wing tip tanks, so that range was on par with the former military jet, just top speed and ceiling were slightly inferior.

 

Anyway, prices were steep and from the United States more modern and economical offerings ruled the market. Maintaining a former military jet was also a costly business, so, consequently, after a slight buzz (more of a hum, actually) in the early Seventies, the Mystery Jet and Jet Craft of Las Vegas, also fuelled by some dubious business practices by the company's owner, disappeared. Even further developments of the original concept, e .g. with a wide body for up to 14 passengers and two engines, would not save the Mystery Jet from failure.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1 pilot plus 5-7 passengers

Length (Mystery Jet 160): 38 ft 5 in (11.73 m)

Wingspan incl. tip tanks: 39 ft 7 1/2 in (12.09 m)

Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)

Wing area: 262 ft² (24.34 m²)

Empty weight: 7,283 lb (3,304 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 12,390 lb (5,620 kg)

 

Powerplant:

1× de Havilland Goblin 3 centrifugal turbojet, rated at 3,350 lbf (14.90 kN)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 516 mph (832 km/h)

Cruising speed: 400 mph (644 km/h)

Range: 1,220 mi (1,960 km)

Service ceiling: 37,700 ft (11,500 m)

 

Armament:

None

  

The kit and its assembly:

The first finished work in 2017 is a different kind of whif, one of the few civilian models in my collection. This conversion looks sick, but ,as weird as it may seem, the Business-Jet-From-Vintage-Vampires idea was real. For more information, and the source from where some of the backgound story was gathered, please check:

 

www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/article...

 

Anyway, my build is just a personal interpretation of the original concept, not a true model of the Mystery Jet. In fact, this was limited through the donor parts for this kitbash.

 

The rear end was the smaller problem: Airfix offers a very good Vampire T.11 trainer with excellent detail and fit - the passenger cabin was the bigger challenge. Finding "something" that would fit in shape and especialsl size was not easy - my first choice was a nose section from a vintage 1:100 Antonow An-24 from VEB Plasticart (still much too wide, though), and the best solution came as an accidental find in a local model kit shop where I found a heavily discounted MPM Focke Wulf Fw 189 B-0 trainer.

 

The reason: the kit was complete, but the bag holding the sprues must have been heated immensely during the packaging process: the main sprues were horrible warped - except for some single parts including the canopies and the sprue with the cabin! Height wind width were perfect, only the boxy shape caused some headaches. But I guess I would not find anything better...

 

That said, the transplantation mess started. I never built any of the two donor kits before, so I carefully tried to find the best place where to cut the Vampire's nose - I ended up with a staggered solution right in front of the wing root air intakes.

The Fw 189's cabin was bit more tricky, because I had to get rid of the original wing roots and wanted to use as much space as possible, up to the rear bulkhead and together with the rear cabin window. The idea was to blend the Fw 189's roof line into the Vampire's engine section, while keeping the original air intake ducts, so that the overall arrangement would look plausible.

 

The result became a pretty long nose section - and at that time the tail booms were not fited yet, so I was not certain concerning overall proportions. The cabin's underside had to be improvised, and blending the boxy front end with a flat underside into the tubby, round Vampire fuselage caused some headaches. I also had to re-create the lower flank section with styrene sheet, because I had originally hoped that I could "push" the new cabin between the wing roots - but that space was occupied by the Goblin's inlet ducts.

 

Inside of the cabin, the original floor, bulkheads and dashboard were used, plus five bucket seats that come with the MPM kit. In order to hide the body work from the inside, side panels from 0.5mm styrene sheet were added in the cabin - with the benefit of additional stability, but also costing some space... Since the machine was built with closed cabin, a pilot was added - actually a bash of a WWII Matchbox pilot and a German officer from an ESCI tank kit. Looks pretty good and "professional". ;-)

 

Once the cabin was in place, lots of PSR followed and the tail booms could be fitted. To my relief, the longer nose did not look too unbalanced (and actually, design sketches for the original Mystery Jet suggest just this layout!) - but I decided to add wing tip tanks which would beef up wingspan and shift the visual mass slightly forward. They come from an 1:100 Tamiya Il-28, or better the "R" recce variant.

 

The only other big change concerned the nose wheel. While the OOB wheel and strut were used, the well is now located in front of the wheel and it would retract forwards, giving the nose a more balanced look - and the cabin arrangement made this change more plausible, too.

 

Another addition were three small porthole windows in the solid parts of the cabin flanks - one of them ending up in the middle of the cabin door on starboard, where a solid part of the canopy roof lent itself for a good place just behind the pilots' seats.

  

Painting and markings:

I cannot help it, but the thing looks like a design from a vintage Tintin or Yoko Tsuno comic! This was not planned or expected - and actually the paint scheme evolved step by step. I had no plan or clue what to apply - the real Mystery Jet mock-up in silver with blue trim looked sharp, but somehow I did not want blue. So I started with the interior (out of a necessity, as the fuselage had to be closed before any further work progress at some point) and settled for plushy, British colors: Cream (walls and roof) and Claret-Red (carpet and seats).

 

I tried to find something for the outside that would complement this choice of colors, and eventually settled on Ivory and White (upper and lower fuselage halves, respectively) with some deep red trim, plus pale grey wing surfaces. I even considered some thin golden trim lines, but I think this would have been too much?

 

The trim was created with decals tripes from generic sheet material, the black anti-glare panel was painted, though. As a color contrast I painted some of the upper canopy panels in translucent, light blue, and this looks very good.

 

The wings received a lightb treatment with thinned black ink, in order to emphasize the engravings. No post-shading was done, though, for a rather clean look.

 

Most markings were puzzled together; the registration G-AZRE actually belonged to a Vickers Vanguard (from the 1:144 Airfix kit), the large letters above and under the wings were created with single 45° letters (USAF style). Most stencils come from a Vampire trainer aftermarket sheet from Xtradecal, from the OOB sheet only the "No step" warnings on the wings were used.

 

Finally, the kit was sealed with a semi-matt coat of varnish, except for the anti-glare panel, which recived a matt coat. The three small windows received artificial panes made from Clearfix, after their rims had been painted black.

  

A messy project, and you better do not take a close look. But the overall elegance of this creation surprises me - the real Mystery Jet already looked sleek, and this model, despite a more blunt nose, confirms this impression. The colors work together well, too - and the thing has a dedicated retro feel about it. Tintin might be on board, as well as Elton John, both sharing a cigar on the rear seats... ;)

we have to replace all the

electrical receptacles in our house

to eventually satisfy our insurance company

because of the age of our home.

- lucky Ross is an electrician.

 

song - "Stayin' Alive" sung as if

it were written in the 16th century -

- quite wonderful !

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zGf7_YL70M&list=PL8q8S7uOH3d...

 

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 06-Nov-19.

 

Suffering from some heat shimmer.

 

This aircraft was delivered to Finnair O/Y as OH-LHB in May-75. It was wet-leased to Nigeria Airways for 3 weeks in Sep-81, to Sudan Airways (short-term) in Sep/Oct-81, to Nigeria Airways again between Oct/Nov-81 and to VASP Brasil between Mar-94/Mar-94. It was wet-leased to SkyJet Belgium in Jun-94 and immediately sub-leased to Birgenair (Turkey), still operated by Finnair. It was returned to SkyJet and Finnair in Sep-94. The aircraft was sold to the Capra Corporation in Jun-95 and immediately leased to Air Liberte (France) as F-GPVB. It was returned to the lessor and sold to Continental Airlines as N17085 in May-97. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored at Mojave, CA, USA in Oct-01. It was sold to Omni DC-10 Leasing LLC and leased to Omni Air International in Nov-02. It was returned to Omni DC-10 Leasing and stored at Victorville, CA, USA in Mar-07. In Nov-07 the aircraft was sold to 10 Tanker Air Carrier LLC and remained stored until it was converted to a fire fighting tanker aircraft at Victorville in Jul-08. It was sold to BC Aircraft Leasing in Mar-14 and leased back to 10 Tanker Air Carrier. Now 44.5 years old it continues in service. Current, updated (Nov-19).

This beautiful setting sun is about to be replaced with a gorgeous moon........Okay, that's probably stretching it for this challenge but I just had to get this sunset in! lol

This Roberts Coaches vehicle is on a regular Weekly run for Roberts, so if any of you are in the Dover Area be sure to make the most of this opportunity, as I was told just a few weeks ago by a YMS Travel of Aylesham driver, that Roberts Coaches are possibly to go at the end of 2016 following the untimely death of Mr. Roberts Senior in late 2015, and have allready lost about 80% of their work, with other operators including YMS Travel and Gillies Coaches both of Aylesham and Bayliss Executive Travel of Deal amongst others picking up some of their work.

Having claimed to have recently seen a Roberts vehicle driving down the A2 at about 40MPH with a small child holding the door shut!!, the YMS Driver told me he was not surprised to hear Roberts may be going, but having grown up with Roberts and been on many school trips with them when I was younger, in a world of modern Stagecoach Easy Access buses, I think we will miss Roberts and the Variety they provide to the East Kent Area.

So Enjoy Roberts Coaches and Make the Most of them while you Still Can!

 

And be sure to check by my other acount: www.flickr.com/photos_user.gne?path=&nsid=77145939%40..., to see what else Very Recently!

 

Yes I'm back again.

However due to my main computer on which I edit my work being struck down with a big bad virus, this picture and all the others I am uploading, were Unedited but have now been replaced with Edited versions. So enjoy and Thanks for your patience and understanding.

 

I do still hate everything about this shit that is new Flickr and always will, but an inability to find another outlet for my work that is as easy for me to use as the Old BETTER Flickr was, has forced me back to Flickr, even though it goes against everything I believe in.

 

I don't generally have an opinion on my own work, I prefer to leave that to other people and so based on the positive responses to my work from the various friends I had made on Flickr prior to the changes I have decided to upload some more of my work as an experiment and to see what happens.

 

So make the most of me before they delete my acount: www.flickr.com/photos/69558134@N05/?details=1, to stop me complaining!!

I'm back with another repair tutorial. Today we're going to replace the steel band on this uncommon Mercury Grand Marquis cap. It may look good in the photo, but that's just some silver paint that I sprayed over it years ago. The steel is so rusty that I could punch a screwdriver through it. You can see a couple rust holes in the band if you look closely.

 

This is the only cap of this type that I have right now, and the face is in very good condition, so I decided to repair it. I'll be using an identical backing band that I salvaged from a common Crown Vic hubcap that had a nasty face but a good band. Both of these caps fit the same wheel and were made by the same supplier, so the backing will interchange. You do have to be careful, because sometimes backings that look similar are not actually the same.

 

Due to a second problem that I discovered (we'll see that later), I wasn't able to totally finish this repair yet, but you can still see the technique from these photos...

Replacing an earlier scanned print with a better version 16-Mar-22 (DeNoise AI).

 

This aircraft was delivered to Western Airlines as N913WA in Jul-79. Western was merged into Delta Air Lines in Apr-87. It was sold to UAS United Aviation Services in Jun-88 and was leased to Scanair (a SAS subsidiary) later the same month.

 

It was re-registered SE-DHS in Dec-88. Scanair was renamed Premiair in Jan-94 and in Dec-96 Premiair was bought out by the UK based Airtours Group and the aircraft was re-registered OY-CNS.

 

It was transferred to Airtours International Airways as G-DPSP in Aug-00. In May-02 Airtours was renamed MyTravel Airways. By this time the aircraft was 25 years old and as the DC-10's would soon be retired they were left in basic Airtours livery with MyTravel titles.

 

The aircraft was retired and stored at Exeter, UK in Sep-03. It was ferried to Kemble UK in Jan-04 where it was due to be broken up. It was repainted as 'Oriental Airways' in Apr-04 and was 're-registered' with the fictional registration G-BPPL for a TV film.

 

It was sold to Executive Aerospace in Oct-04 and 'exported to Swaziland' as 3D-MRR. It was ferried to Johannesburg in Nov-04 and sold to Interlink Airways. It operated until May-05 when it was permanently retired at Johannesburg.

 

It was noted at Johannesburg in deteriorating condition in Feb-08 and still in basic Airtours livery. Although it was no longer flyable, it was re-registered S9-GAP around Apr-09 and re-registered ZS-GAP to Global Aviation Investments (Pty) Ltd in Mar-12.

 

It was last noted still at Johannesburg in Dec-12. I'm advised that it was finally broken up in Oct-15.

Replacing the usual Boeing 787-9.

still quite new at HDR.. replaced the image...

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 29-Mar-24.

 

First flown in May-96 with the Airbus test registration F-WWBG, this aircraft was delivered to Aerostar Leasing and leased to Vietnam Airlines as S7-ASB (Seychelles) in Jul-96.

 

It was operated on behalf of Vietnam Airlines by Region Air. Vietnam Airlines took over the operation when it was re-registered VN-A302 in Jan-06.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor as N620SC in May-12 and stored at Jakarta-CGK. It was written off at Jakarta-CGK on 15-Mar-13. It was badly damaged when ground equipment was blown into it by high winds during a severe storm.

 

It was broken up at Jakarta-CGK in mid 2014, the registration was cancelled in Sep-14. Updated 29-Mar-24.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 08-Jan-21.

 

First flown in Aug-00 with the Boeing test registration N1786B, it was re-registered N1015B two days later for Boeing test flights.

 

The aircraft was delivered to Hapag-Lloyd Airlines as D-AHFT in Dec-00. It was fitted with blended winglets in Apr-01. The aircraft was sold to a lessor in Dec-03 and leased back to Hapag-Lloyd.

 

Hapag-Lloyd was renamed Hapagfly.com in Nov-05 and renamed again in Nov-06 as TUIfly.com. It was wet-leased to CanJet Airlines (Canada) in Dec-08, returning to TUIfly in May-09.

 

In Nov-10 the aircraft was wet-leased to TUIfly Nordic for the winter, returning to TUIfly.com in Apr-11. TUIfly.com was renamed TUI Airlines Germany at the end of Oct-17. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored at Hanover, Germany in Mar-20 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

 

It returned to service in early Jul-20. The aircraft was withdrawn from service in Nov-21 and parked at Hannover, Germany. It was ferried to Roswell, NM, USA in Dec-21, returned to the lessor as EI-GYO and stored.

 

The aircraft was ferried to Vilnius, Lithuania in Jul-22 for further storage. In Apr-23 it was leased to Go2Sky Airlines (Slovak Republic) as OM-GTJ and wet-leased to TUI Airlines Germany three days later.

 

At various times during the 2023 summer season it also operated for TUI Nordic, TUI Netherlands, TUI Belgium and TUI UK, returning to Go2Sky in Sep-23. During the 2023/24 winter season the aircraft was wet-leased to JetTime (Denmark), TUI Germany, Seven Air (Denmark) and Air Explore (Czechia).

 

In Apr-24 the aircraft was leased to TUI Airways UK for the 2024 summer season. Current, updated 11-Aug-24.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 09-Oct-18.

 

First flown with the ATR test registration F-WWEV, this aircraft was delivered to GPA Propjet Ltd and leased to Resort Air (USA) as N425TE in Feb-89. Resort Air was renamed Trans States Airlines in Oct-89. It was sold to the Boeing Capital Corporation in Feb-99 while the lease to Trans States continued for another two months. The aircraft returned to Boeing Capital and was stored at Exeter UK in Apr-99. It was returned to GPA ATR Ltd and leased to Muk Air Taxi (Denmark) as OY-MUH in Aug-99. Muk Air ceased operations in Jun-01. The aircraft was returned to the lessor and initially stored at Dinard (France) at the end of Jun-01. It was later moved to Toulouse for further storage. It was due to be leased to Danish Air Transport in Nov-01 but the lease was cancelled and it remained stored until it was sold to Bradley Air Services (Canada), trading as First Air, as C-GSRR in Aug-04. Current (Oct-18).

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

 

The F-112 started life as a privately funded light fighter program by Republic under the handle AP-95 in the mid-1950s, aiming at export markets which were about to replace their 1st generation jet fighters like the F-86 or F-84 and air forces which could not afford or simply want the heavy supersonic fighters under development at that time. In the USA, it was also aimed at the replacement of these Korean War era types in the Air National Guards.

 

The AP-95 was inspired by both Lockheed's CL-246 (the later F-104 Starfighter) and Northrop's N-156 Light Fighter concept (which eventually developed into the highly successful F-5 fighter family, aiming at the same niches. In size and performance the aircraft fell more or less in between these two design – it was heavier and larger than Northrop’s project, and a less radical alternative to the CL-246. Republic's design team started the development in 1955 and relied heavily on the huge F-105 fighter bomber that had been under development at the time, but the AP-95 was to be a pure interceptor. The basic idea was "to build a relatively small and highly aerodynamic fighter around the same engine that drives the F-100, but focusing on high performance and low cost of maintenance, as well as good field performance."

 

Actually, the AP-95, called "Thunderdart",was revealed to USAF officials for the first time as a full-sized mock-up in early 1957, and it looked much like a scaled-down F-105. It combined a slender, area-ruled fuselage with highly swept wings and a conventional, low tail.

The nose offered space for a relatively large radar dish. The air intakes were placed in the wing roots, with Ferri-style, forward-swept leading edges that had also been used on the F-105 and other Republic designs like the AP-75 interceptor.

From the F-105 the landing gear concept had been borrowed, too. The long main legs retracted inwards into the wings, leaving only the outer wings free for ordnance loads, but allowed much space in the fuselage for fuel and avionics. The aircraft was to be powered by a Pratt & Whitney J57-P-21 turbojet, with a dry thrust of 10,200 lbf (45 kN) and 16,000 lbf (71 kN) with afterburner.

 

The basic armament of the AP-95 was an internal 20 mm (.79 in) M61 Vulcan Gatling gun, which had a rate of fire of 6,000 rounds per minute. The cannon, mounted in the lower part of the port fuselage, was fed by a 725-round drum behind the pilot's seat. Additionally, the AP-95 was able to carry up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs under its wings. Total external payload was 6.000 lb (2.727 kg) on five hardpoints, a centerline pylon under the fuselage was "wet" in order to take a single drop tank. Alternatively, iron bombs or napalm tanks could be carried in a secondary ground support role.

 

The AP-95 was an attractive design but faced a strong competition, if not opposition. Among USAF officials it was not popular, because it was - despite its basically good performance and low development risks - regarded as an inferior aircraft. It did not reach Mach 2 (what the F-104 promised, despite many other weaknesses), and adding a complex radar system (which would have allowed longer range AAMs like the AIM-7 Sparrow) with an additional operator would further reduce performance.

The aircraft shared a "bad image" fate with the later F-5, which became nevertheless very popular in oversea markets due to its simplicity, versatility and efficacy. On the other side, Europe was already in Lockheed's strong grip, as the F-104G had been selected as NATO's standard fighter bomber - under dubious circumstances, though, but it successfully blocked the market.

 

Anyway, the AP-95 was nevertheless a capable aircraft which was more cost-effective than the thirsty and short-legged F-104, or the larger F-102 and F-106 which formed the air defense backbone at that era. While the US Air Force did not want another type in its arsenal, it was decided to buy and build the aircraft as a state-of-the-art replacement for the ageing ANG Sabres and Thunderstreaks, with the prospect of delivery of the type to NATO partners all over the world, too.

 

The original design was quickly approved and the AP-95 prototype made its maiden flight on October 10th, 1960, only equipped with a basic AN/ASG-14T ranging radar. After completing trials and further development with two further YF-112 pre-production aircraft, the Thunderdart was officially introduced as F-112A in March 1962 to the USAF. These production aircraft now featured an AN/APQ-83 radar for night and all-weather interceptions. Additionally, one of the YF-112 was modified in late 1962 to carry a second crew member under a lengthened canopy and with reduced internal fuel - it was planned as a F-112B trainer, but did not find interest since the T-38 already offered supersonic performance at much lower cost, and the Thunderdart's range suffered considerably. The F-112B remained a one-off.

 

In 1964 the F-112A was also introduced to the US ANG forces and attained some interest from other countries, including Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, South Korea and Japan. Most of these foreign countries settled for the Starfighter in the 60ies, and the door for the F-112 was closing: As a result of winning the International Fighter Aircraft competition in 1970, a program aimed at providing effective low cost fighters to American allies, Northrop introduced the second-generation F-5E Tiger II in 1972. This upgrade included more powerful engines, higher fuel capacity, greater wing area and improved leading edge extensions for better turn rate, optional air to air refueling, and improved avionics including air-to-air radar. It became a great success and made the F-112 obsolete, which lacked further development potential and was too limited to its interceptor role to be a versatile option for smaller air forces.

 

From 1962 until 1965, a total of 145 F-112As were built. Compared with the 1.400 Tiger II versions until 1987 only a very small number, and further orders from the USA did not materialize, even though the Thunderdart showed good flight characteristics.

 

As a final attempt to improve the Thunderdart's potential, 80 F-112A aircraft were modernized from 1969 on, all of them ANG aircraft. These machines received a more powerful J57-P-20 engine, rated at 18.040lbf (8.200kN) thrust at full afterburner – which finally allowed to break the Mach 2 barrier.

On the avionics side, a new AN/APQ-124 radar was fitted – which still did not allow the guidance of medium range missiles, though, the AIM-9 remained the Thunderdart’s primary weapon. Further enhancements included a more modern firing system and an AAS-15 infrared sensor. These updated aircraft received the designation F-112C, and the MLU phase lasted until 1972. Externally these modified aircraft could easily be identified by the bigger radome and the added IR sensor pod under the nose.

 

No F-112 was ever used in combat, despite the raging Vietnam War. The original F-112As remained with the USAF, but these were only used for training purposes or as instructional airframes on the ground. These F-112As were quickly phased out during the 70ies, the last one in September 1977. The modernized F-112C soldiered on with several ANG forces until 1985, being replaced by F-4 and F-16 as interceptors and multi-role combat aircraft.

  

F-112A general characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 56 ft 9 ¼ in (17.02 m)

Wingspan: 25 ft 7 in (7.81 m)

Height: 15 ft 9 ¼ in (4.82 m)

Wing area: 277 ft² (25.75 m²)

Empty weight: 14.000 lb (6.350 kg)

Loaded weight: 20.640 lb (9.365 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 29.027 lb (13.170 kg)

 

Powerplant

1× Pratt & Whitney J57-P-21 turbojet with 10.200 lbf (45 kN) dry thrust and 16.000 lbf (71 kN) with afterburner:

 

Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 1.86 (1.225 mph, 1.975 km/h) at 36,000 ft (11.000 m)

Combat radius: 450 mi (730 km)

Ferry range: 1.735 mi (2.795 km) with external fuel

Service ceiling: 58.000 ft (17.700 m)

Rate of climb: 31.950 ft/min (162.3 m/s)

 

Armament

1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan gatling cannon with 725 RPG

5 hardpoints for 6.000 lb of ordnance (2.727 kg); typically 2× or 4× AIM-9 Sidewinder under the wings, plus an optional drop tank under the fuselage.

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a totally fictional aircraft with no real paradigm. The initial idea was that I wondered if one could not make something from an early MiG-21F with its small diameter air intake, when this would be replaced by a radome?

 

That the project eventually evolved into a kind of anti-Starfighter came through the wings: there was the problem of placing the air intakes somewhere. To solve that problem I remembered the Tamiya 1:100 F-105 kit, I built one years ago and it’s still available, even though I had to import a NIB kit from Hong Kong for this occasion. Calculations had indicated that the wing size and span would match a 1:72 MiG-21 well, and so the F-112 was born*. The Thunderchief’s air intakes are SO characteristic that anything else than a Republic design was out of question, the rest was spun around this basic idea.

 

But back to the model itself: the whole thing is a true Frankenstein job, puzzled together from a lot of bits and pieces. The most important ingredients:

 

● Fuselage from a 1:72 Academy MiG-21F, incl. canopy

● Radome from a 1:72 Hasegawa F-4E

● Wings, pylons and main landing gear from a 1:100 Tamiya F-105

● Stabilizer fins from a 1:72 Revell F-16, shortened

● Main wheels from a 1:72 Hobby Boss F-86F

● Fin from a 1:100 Il-28(!)

● Horizontal stabilizers from a 1:72 Matchbox A-7E w. reduced span

● Front wheel from an 1:72 Italeri A-4M

● Engine nozzle from a 1:72 Matchbox F-104G

● The afterburner inside is actually a sprocket wheel from an 1:72 ESCI M1A1 Abrams

● Cockpit tub and dashboard come from a 1:72 Heller Alpha Jet

● Seat and pilot from Matchbox (unknown origin)

 

The MiG-21 lost any characteristic detail (blow-in doors, 30mm cannons, slots for wings and stabilizers, even its fin and spine), and the landing gear wells were covered. The F-105 wings were placed slightly lower on the fuselage side. The fin was simply replaced, the tail a bit shortened and the new/bigger nozzle attached. The new nose had almost the same diameter as the original air intake piece from the Academy MiG-21F. For the Corsair II stabilizers, ‘consoles’ were added on the lower rear fuselage, so that they could also be placed in a lower position.

 

My plan/wish was to make the thing look as little MiG-21ish as possible, and IMHO I succeeded well. Actually, the Thunderdart reminds a LOT of the much bigger F-105, and there is also a lot of F-101 in it, too, despite its ADC livery? You take at least two looks, since proportions are different from the F-105, yet the thing looks VERY familiar… “Could it have been…?”

 

External loads were limited to just two AIM-9 training rounds with launch rails under the outer pylons, even though all wing pylons were fitted (the Tamiya kit has large slots to hold them, I was too lazy to fill them).

 

The cannon bulges, the IR sensor as well as some air scoops and antennae were sculpted from simple pieces of sprue or styrene.

  

Painting and markings:

As an USAF/ADC interceptor, an overall Aircraft Grey (FS 36473, used ModelMaster 1731) was clear from the start – and it’s actually a fine option, as the F-105 as lookalike benchmark was basically only operated in bare metal or SEA camouflage. An ADC aircraft would be deceiving, too, and provoke third looks.

 

The cockpit interior was painted medium grey, the landing gear wells in interior green and the air intakes in white with red trim.

 

Anyway, making an ANG aircraft from this base was more tricky. At first I wanted to create an Oklahoma ANG aircraft (had some nice markings for the fin, but they turned out to me too large since they belong to a modern F-16…), but finally settled on a D.C. Air Guard aircraft since I had such fuselage markings from a F-86H at hand.

 

Basic tone is an overall FS 16473 ADC Grey (Testors 1731), some panels on the upper side and the flanks were highlighted with a slightly lighter grey (FS 16515). The cockpit front area received a flat black anti-glare panel, to which a black trim was added - F-106 style, and this turned out to be VERY characteristic, if not deceiving! Around the rear fuselage some heat marks – reminiscent of the F-100 – were added through metallizer (Steel and Titanium, partly mixed with Humbrol 113, Rust) and some dry-painting. The kit was then lightly weathered through a thin wash with black ink and very light dry-painting with pale grey.

 

The colorful fin markings were designed by myself – inspired by a 2008 postal stamp from the ‘Flags of our Nation’series. My fin decoration is purely fictional, though, and incorporates the D.C. flag (two red horizontal bars on a white ground, with three red stars above) as well as some iconic cherry blossoms, as these seem to be a local identity symbol? Additionally the fin features on one side the District of Columbia Sign, on the other side the Eastern Air Defence Sector badge. The fin decoration was created on a PC with Corel Draw and printed on Experts' Choice white decal paper with an inkjet printer at 600dpi - even though the touchy decals suffered under the soaking process... A lot of cosmetic correction had to be done by hand/brush, it's far from perfect, just the result of my first large scale self-.made decal experiment. The rest of the markings were puzzled together from the scrap box.

 

After painting and decals, the kit received an overall coat of semi-gloss Humbrol varnish, since I wanted a slight shine but not a hi-gloss finish. The anti-glare panel was covered with matt varnish - which did not dry up properly, leaving a milky film. Nevertheless, it looks like sun-bleached black paint, so I kept it. Undesired side effect... The radome was painted with gloss varnish, so that three shades of black meet at the Thunderdart's nose.

  

A major kitbash. The Thunderdart looks unspectacular, but it is IMHO very deceiving. It combines characteristic elements of various Century fighters in shape and color, and it should keep some folks wondering what's actually wrong about it... Sleek aircraft - behold what's in a simple 1st generation MiG-21!

*As a side note: This what-if kit originally bore the designation “F-109”, which was originally allocated to a Bell VTOL aircraft that never made it beyond a mock-up stage. “F-109”, however, has recently found a common use for a fictional fighter which is more or less a crossbreed of an F-104 with F-100 wings and a low tail, so I switched to “F-112” for my own Thunderdart creation. “F-112” had NEVER been used, even though Douglas had used the F-112 code for an F-101 development, but only for internal purposes. Offially it has AFAIK never been used.

A transmission lineman disconnects insulators on a 115kV overhead line.

Replacing a photo from 15-May-09 with a better version 28-May-09.

 

Named: "Monchengladbach".

 

First flown in Feb-04 with the Airbus test registration F-WWYV, this aircraft was delivered to Lufthansa as D-AIHI in Apr-04. It was placed in winter storage at Munich, Germany between Dec-15 / Mar-16.

 

When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit the world in Mar-20 the aircraft was initially stored at Munich and moved to Teruel, Spain for further storage in May-20. There was some discussion about permanently retiring the A340-600 fleet, however it returned to service in May-22.

 

The aircraft was permanently retired at Frankfurt-Hahn, Germany in Dec-25 and is due to be sold to USC Universal Sky Carrier GmbH for spares recovery. Updated 10-Dec-25.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 05-Nov-23.

 

Operated by Germania on behalf of TUIfly,com. With the 'Bach - Leipzig Airport promo tail livery.

 

Delivered to Germania as D-AGEE in Oct-88, this aircraft was sold to Pembroke Capital in Oct-97 and leased back to Germania. It was returned to the lessor in Apr-98.

 

It was leased to Ukraine International Airways as UR-GAG a few days later. In Jun-99 it was wet-leased to Blue Panorama Airlines (Italy) and returned to Ukraine International at the end of Oct-99. It was immediately leased to Princess Airlines (Greece) as SX-BFY, returning to Ukraine International in Feb-00.

 

In Apr-00 the aircraft was leased to Aerosweet Airlines (Ukraine), they became Aerosvit Airlines in Oct-00 and it was returned to Ukraine International in Jan-02.

 

It was wet-leased to Blue Panorama again in Jun-02 and returned to Ukraine International in early Nov-02. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in May-03.

 

It was leased to Germania again as D-AGEE the following day. It was operated on behalf of DBA,com (formerly Deutsche BA) between Feb-04 / Jan-07. DBA,com was taken over by Air-Berlin in 2006 but continued to operate as DBA.

 

In Feb-07 the aircraft was wet-leased to TUIfly and operated in their full livery with the Leipzig tail. It returned to Germania in Nov-09. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Dec-11 and permanently retired at Kemble, UK. It was broken up there in Aug/Sep-12.

Replacing an earlier scanned slide with a better version 12-Mar-15.

 

'Biggin Hill Air Fair 1966'.

 

G-ASJF was delivered new to British United Airways in May-65, BUA merged into Caledonian Airways to form Caledonian//BUA in Nov-70 becoming British Caledonian Airways in Sep-71. Sold to the British Jet Aircraft Company in Apr-82 it was leased to Pacific Express as N103EX. They didn't keep up the payments and it was repossessed in Mar-84. After a period in storage it was leased to Cascade Airways in Oct-84 and returned to British Jet Aircraft Company in Jan-86. It was sold to Florida Express the same month and broken up for spares in Feb-86.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 07-Sep-22 (DeNoise AI).

 

In Khalifa Airways basic livery with Corsair titles.…

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWKM, this aircraft was delivered to LTU International Airways as D-AERS in Apr-97. It was sold to a lessor in Jun-00 and leased back to LTU until it was returned to the lessor in May-01.

 

The aircraft was leased to Skyservice Canada as C-FRAV the following month. Skyservice had a problem with licensing and the aircraft was wet-leased to new Algerian airline Khalifa Airways later in Jun-01 for a joint service with Air Algerie from Paris-Orly / Oran. It was sub-leased to Air Algerie in Jul-02.

 

In Feb-03 Khalifa ceased trading and the aircraft was repossessed by Skyservice. It was stored at Zurich, Switzerland in Mar-03 and returned to the lessor in Jun-03 when it was leased to Corsair as F-GJSV.

 

In Apr-04 it was returned to the lessor and leased to Skyservice Airlines, again as C-FRAV. The aircraft was wet-leased to MyTravel Airways (UK) in Nov-04 for the winter season, returning to Skyservice in Mar-05 when it was wet-leased to LTU International.

 

In May-05 Skyservice returned the aircraft to the lessor. The lease was transferred direct to LTU and the aircraft was re-registered D-AERS again. LTU was taken over by Air Berlin in Mar-07 although the two airlines operated independently until LTU was fully integrated into Air Berlin in Feb-08.

 

The aircraft continued in service with Air Berlin until it was returned to the lessor in Oct-11 and stored at Abu Dhabi (UAE). In Dec-11 it was re-registered EI-ETI and ferried to Chateauroux, France for repaint into I-Fly livery.

 

It was stored at Chateauroux until it was delivered to I-Fly Airlines (Russia) in Apr-12. It was withdrawn from service in Nov-15 and stored at Perpignan (France). At the end of Feb-16 it ferried to St. Athan (Wales, UK) and was permanently retired. It was broken up at St. Athan in Jan-17. Updated 07-Sep-26.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 11-Apr-24.

 

First flown with the ATR test registration F-WWEQ, this aircraft was delivered to a lessor and leased to Aer Arann as EI-REN in Mar-08. It operated some service for Aer Lingus Regional but didn't stay long and returned to the lessor in Nov-08.

 

It was sold to Erik Thun AB the following day as SE-MDA and leased to Golden Air Flyg (Sweden) at the end of Nov-08 and operated on behalf of Kullaflyg. It was returned to Golden Air Fly in 2009.

 

Golden Air Flyg was sold to Braathens Regional Airlines in late 2012 and was merged into BRA Braathens Regional Airlines on 01-Jan-13. The aircraft was leased to DAT Danish Air Transport in Apr-19 and sub-leased to Caribbean Airlines a week later. It returned to DAT and Braathens Regional in Sep-19.

 

In Jul-20 the aircraft was operated for Air Leap, a Swedish Virtual Airlines. It returned to Braathens Regional in late Dec-21 and was parked at Billund, Denmark. It was returned to the lessor at the end of Jan-22 and stored at Halmstad AFB, Sweden.

 

In Apr-22 the aircraft was ferried to East Midlands Airport, UK and was repainted in full Blue Islands livery. It was leased to Blue Islands Airways, UK as G-ISLO in May-22. Current, updated 11-Apr-24.

light field reflective lighting and a strip box camera right to light the plant.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 27-Aug-22 (DeNoise AI).

 

Left side.

 

This aircraft was delivered to JAS Japan Air System as JA8029 in Oct-97. It was sold to a lessor and leased back to JAS in Mar-98. JAS was merged into Japan Airlines in Apr-04 and integrated into JAL's new Domestic Division.

 

in Oct-06 the aircraft was transferred to Japan Airlines - International Division. The separate divisions were brought together when it all became Japan Airlines again in Apr-11.

 

This aircraft operated JAL's 'final' MD-90 service in Mar-12 and was stored at Tokyo - Haneda. However, after three months in storage the aircraft was returned to service in Jun-12 and was finally retired in Apr-13.

 

In mid May-13, it was sold to Delta Air Lines (USA) as N951DL and ferried to Jacksonville - Cecil Field, FL, USA for heavy maintenance and cabin reconfiguration. It entered service in Sep-13.

 

Delta Air Lines managed to get another six years service out of the aircraft before it was permanently retired at Birmingham, AL, USA in Sep-19. Updated 27-Aug-22.

Unfortunately the actual model got lost in the tribulations of time.

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In August 1962 production of the Taunus P1 came to an end. The car was replaced by the Taunus P4 which retained the “Taunus 12M” name, but applied it to a Ford’s first German built front-wheel drive model, powered by a modern compact V4 engine.

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Ford Taunus P4 - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Production 1962–1966

Assembly Cologne-Niehl, Germany. Genk, Belgium

Powertrain: Engine 1183 cc V4 cylinder water-cooled

1498 cc V4 cylinder water-cooled

 

The Ford Taunus 12 M was a small family saloon/sedan produced by Ford of Germany between September 1962 and August 1966. The Taunus 12M name had been used for the car’s predecessor and it would apply also to subsequent Ford models which is why the 12M introduced in 1962 is usually identified, in retrospect, as the Ford Taunus P4. It was the fourth newly designed German Ford to be launched after the war and for this reason it was from inception known within the company as Ford Project 4 (P4) or the Ford Taunus P4.

 

More unusually, the car was originally designed not for production in Germany but to be produced in North America and sold as the Ford Cardinal, a home-grown competitor for the Volkswagen. A last minute change of strategy saw the US production plans cancelled, and in 1960 Ford of Germany received a fully developed modern new design which they adapted for German conditions in order to replace their own by now badly outdated Ford Taunus P1.

 

North American design

 

The 1952 Ford Taunus had received a stylish new body, but its engine was little changed from the (originally British designed) unit fitted in 1935 to the Ford Eifel and other underpinnings, including its rear axle and suspension, were little changed from those of the 1939 Ford Taunus G93A. By contrast, the P4, originally designed for large scale manufacture in North America, was technically innovative, featuring a newly developed compact V4 engine which would provide the basis for engines designed and produced by Ford of Germany for twenty years. The Taunus P4 was also a front-wheel drive design at a time when other German auto-makers were still avoiding what was then seen as an unnecessarily complicated lay-out.

 

The decision, taken only after the new model had been prepared for production, not to build the Ford Cardinal in North America was the result of a review of “marketing opportunities” in the US market. In 1960 a prototype was delivered to Ford in Cologne. The form of the model that emerged from the production line at Koln-Niehl two years later would be unchanged. The single all-red rear light cluster was seen as a tell-tale sign of the car’s US provenance at a time when rear-mounted direction indicator lights on European cars still tended to be separate from the other light units or at least to use separate bulbs. The dished steering wheel was another feature not normally found in European designs of the time.

 

The Taunus P4 came to market in September 1962: it enjoyed a reasonably positive reception. It was obviously a modern car. Its North American designers had come up with a car that was far larger and more spacious than the standard set by the Volkswagen which by now dominated the small sedan class in Germany. Unfortunately P4s suffered from numerous different teething troubles, however, suggesting that adaptation of the car to German conditions may have been a somewhat rushed exercise. Over its four-year model life the Taunus 12M was produced at an averaged rate of more than 150,000 per year which made a useful contribution to the sales figures, but did very little to trouble the market dominance in the small car sector of the Volkswagen Beetle which at this time was held back chiefly by shortage of production capacity.

 

The new V4 engine was mounted well to the front of the car, its centre ahead of the front wheels. It incorporated a balance shaft in order to try to compensate for some of the imbalance resulting from the unconventional positioning of the four crank pins in relation to the three bearings for the crankshaft. At this stage commentators nevertheless found the V4 unit “rougher” and noisier than comparable in-line units. The water pump and thermostat were housed in a sealed unit permanently protected by anti-freeze. The fan was thermostatically controlled which was still an unusual feature at this time. An eye catching feature introduced under the bonnet/hood in 1964 was color-coding on the rocker cover according to the engine type. 40 PS (29 kW; 39 hp) engines were coded green, 50 PS (37 kW; 49 hp) blue and 65 PS (48 kW; 64 hp) red. (The 55 PS (40 kW; 54 hp) version was replaced in the same year by the more powerful 65 PS (48 kW; 64 hp) unit.)

 

The modern compact V4 engine placed Ford of Germany in the hitherto unfamiliar position of setting the pace, and the company were able to sell the unit to other smaller European manufacturers. This was the engine that Saab later used for their 96 model after they abandoned their commitment to two-stroke power. Ford’s compact V4 engine also found its way into the unusual Matra 530 sports car.

Power was transferred through a single dry plate clutch to the front wheels. The four-speed manual gear box featured synchromesh on all four ratios, and was controlled by means of a column-mounted lever. The universal joints necessary to combine power transmission with steering and suspension functions involved a combination of engineering and materials technologies which at the time was still regarded as “leading edge” although front-wheel drive applied to lighter cars with s lighter and less powerful engines had become mainstream in Germany over the three previous decades, following the pioneering application of the various technologies involved in Auto Union’s DKW badged small cars.

Along with the innovative front wheel drive, an idiosyncratic feature at the front of the Taunus P4 involved the front suspension arms which were connected to the engine/gearbox block, thereby fulfilling an unconventional supporting function. Above them, the transversely mounted leaf-springs were linked to a cross-member which was attached to the floor pan, and thereby part of the monocoque bodyshell. In Autumn 1964 the various elements were rearranged and it became possible significantly to soften the front suspension: after this it was reported that the level of engine vibration reaching the driver was much reduced. However, these rearrangements also incorporated a weakening of the anti-roll control at the front of the car which now was in danger of leaning excessively when cornering. This effect was countered by the substitution of more firmly set up shock absorbers while two additional support connections were added at the front in order to make the steering and tracking more precisely controllable.

At the end of 1964 disc brakes replaced drums on the front axle. (Ford’s larger sister model, the Ford Taunus P3, had received this same upgrade the previous year.)

The Taunus P4 used a 6 volt electrical system which was by now becoming unusual in Germany, although at this stage the Volkswagen Beetle, too, had not yet migrated to a 12 volt electrical system.

Taunus P4s came as two or four-door saloon/sedans. A three-door station wagon was also offered: this did not use the “Turnier” appellation from the larger 17M station wagon, although the “Turnier” name would later become used by Ford of Germany for all their station wagons. The station wagon also provided the basis for a panel van. In addition Ford offered a factory built two-door coupé which was in effect simply a two-door saloon/sedan with a shortened roof-line and a steeply raked rear window. The coupe provided exactly the same interior space as the two-door saloon/sedan up to the level of the car’s waistline, but head-room for those on the back-seat was severely restricted.

The rear light units each had an all-red cover and contained only two bulbs. One of the bulbs operated as a conventional brake light. The other rear light bulb contained two filaments, one of which came one with the light switch and the second of which flashed when the turn indicator switch was used, so following traffic saw just a single light becoming successively and rhythmically brighter and less bright when the car was about to turn. The effect will have been unremarkable to North American drivers, but triggered comment in Europe. Here, even where single piece rear light units are fitted, rear indicator lights were and are normally included in their own separate part of the overall light cluster units.

The principal changes during the car's four-year production run took place under the skin, and received only muffled publicity since many involved suspension modifications which a slower and more careful development process might have made unnecessary.

A significant change in the light of subsequent developments was the transfer of production from Ford's German plant to a newly opened modern plant at Genk, in Belgian Limburg, an hour to the west of the company's Cologne head office. Initially the P4 was built exclusively at Ford's Cologne plant, but from August 1963 the P4 became Genk's first volume model and by the time the P4 was replaced three years later almost all the cars were being produced there. The Genk plant subsequently became the lead plant and then the sole plant for production of the Ford Sierra before being retooled for the launch of the front wheel drive Mondeo.

During 142 days in 1963 a standard specification Ford Taunus 12M travelled 356,273 kilometers (221,378 mi) round a disused race track at Miramas at an average speed of 106.48 km/h (66.18 mph). The resulting publicity will have been intended to counter the adverse impression created by the P4’s early teething troubles.

The Taunus P4 was replaced in 1966 by the Ford Taunus P6 which followed broadly the same architecture but was slightly larger, and therefore even more spacious than the Volkswagen, Germany’s top selling small car throughout this period.

By the time of its replacement the Taunus P4 had notched up sales of 672,695 during a four-year production run. The sales total was a significant improvement on the sales volumes achieved by its predecessor, but the overall market size was also growing during the early 1960s, and within its class the Ford 12M was pushed into third place on the domestic market by the reappearance in the segment of Opel, reviving with a new model the Opel Kadett which, like the Ford, appeared in 1962. The Kadett was replaced by an improved model after only three years by when the Kadett’s three-year production volume of 649,512 was less than 5% short of the total production achieved by the Ford over four years. (Wikipedia).

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version.

 

With a Hapag-Lloyd B737-400 and a Delta B757-200 in the background.

Originally conceived by British Leyland, the Metro was built to similar principals as those of the Mini it was intended to replace, with a small, practical platform with as much use available to the passenger as was possible. The car came under various initial guises, including the Austin Metro, the Austin miniMetro, the Morris Metro van and the MG Metro, a version of the car with a 1.3L A-Series Turbo Engine.

 

Although the car was launched in 1980, development of a Mini replacement had dated back to the beginning of the 70's. Dubbed ADO88 (Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 88), the Metro was eventually given the go ahead in 1977, but wanted to have the appeal of some of the larger 'Supermini' (what a contradiction in terms) cars on the market, including cars such as the Ford Fiesta and the Renault 5. Designed by Harris Mann (the same guy who gave us the Princess and the Allegro), the car was given a much more angular body for the time, but despite its futuristic looks did share many features of the earlier Mini, including the 675cc BMC-A Series engine that dated back to 1959, and the gearbox. Initial cars also included the Hydragas Suspension system originally used on the Allegro and the Princess, though with no front/rear connection. The car was also built as a hatchback, which would eventually be a key part of its success as the Mini instead utilised only a small boot.

 

The Metro was originally meant for an earlier 1978 launch, but a lack of funds and near bankruptcy of British Leyland resulted in the car's launch being pushed back. This delay however did allow the folks at Longbridge to construct a £200m robotic assembly plant for the new Metro line, with the hope of building 100,000 cars per year. Finally the car entered sales 3 years late and got off to quite promising initial sales, often being credited for being the saviour of British Leyland. The Metro was in fact the company's first truly new model in nearly 5 years, with the 9 year old Allegro still in production, the 1980 Morris Ital being nothing more than a 7 year old Marina with a new face, and the 5 year old Princess not going anywhere!

 

As mentioned, an entire myriad of versions came with the Metro, including the luxury Vanden Plas version and the sporty MG with its top speed of 105mph and 0-60mph of 10.1 seconds. Eventually the original incarnation of the car, the Austin Metro, went on to sell 1 million units in it's initial 10 year run, making it the second highest selling car of the decade behind the Ford Escort. However, like most other British Leyland products, earlier cars got a bad reputation for poor build quality and unreliability, combined with the lack of rustproofing that was notorious on many BL cars of the time.

 

The show was not over however, as in 1990 the car was given a facelift and dubbed the Rover Metro. The 1950's A-Series engine was replaced by a 1.1L K-Series, and the angular bodyshell was rounded to similar principals as those by acclaimed styling house Ital to create a more pleasing look for the 90's. This facelift, combined with an improvement in reliability and build quality, meant that the car went on to win the 'What Car?' of the Year Award in 1991.

 

In 1994 the car was given yet another facelift, with once again a more rounded design and removal of the Metro name, the car being sold as the Rover 100. Engines were once again changed, this time to a 1.5L Peugeot engine and more audacious colour schemes were available for the even more rounded design of the new car. However, the car was very much starting to look and feel its age. Aside from the fact that the design dated back to 1977, the new car was not well equipped, lacking electric windows, anti-lock brakes, power steering, or even a rev counter! In terms of safety, it was very basic, with most features such as airbags, an alarm, an immobiliser and central locking being optional extras.

 

Eventually the curtain had to fall on the Metro, and in 1997, twenty years after the initial design left the drawing board, it was announced that the car would be discontinued. Spurred on by dwindling sales due to lack of safety and equipment, as well as losing out to comparative cars such as the ever popular Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Vauxhall Corsa, with only fuel economy keeping the car afloat, Rover axed the Metro in 1998 with no direct replacement, although many cite the downsized Rover 200 a possible contender. Stumbling blindly on, the next car to fill the gap in Rover's market was the 2003 CityRover, based on the TATA Indica, which flopped abysmally and pretty much totalled the company (but that's another story).

 

In the end only 2,078,000 Metro's were built in comparison to the 5.3 million examples of the Mini that it was meant to replace. The main failings of the Metro were down to the fact that the car was too big compared to the Mini, and the rounded old-world charm of the Coopers and Clubmans was replaced by the angular corners. Because of this the car simply didn't have the novelty that the Mini continued to claim even 20 years after the first ones left the factory, and the Mini would even go on to outlive the Metro by another 2 years, ending production in 2000, then going on to have a revival in the form of BMW's New Mini Cooper that's still being built today. Unlike the Mini, the Metro also failed to conquer the international market in the same way, scoring its 2 million units pretty much in Britain alone, although some cars were sold in France and Spain, but only to the total of a few hundred.

 

The Metro however survived only on fuel economy and its spacious interior, but by the early 1990's, whilst other car manufacturers had moved on leaps and bounds, Rover continued to be stuck in the past with not the money or the enthusiasm to change what was a terribly outdated and extremely basic car. Towards the end the Metro, which had only a few years earlier won awards for its practical nature, was ending up on lists for Worst car on the market.

 

Today however you can still see Metro's, later editions are especially common on the roads of Britain. Earlier models built under British Leyland have mostly rusted away and are apparently only down to about a thousand nowadays, but the Rover 100's and Rover Metros continue to ply their trade, a lonely reminder of how here in Britain, we can never ever seem to move on!

Replaced April 7, 2014 with a re-processed version that I think gives it more depth, so I'm placing it at the front of my Photostream. Some leaves were just beginning to change here in Portland, Oregon on this bright October day with the sun low in the sky.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 21-Oct-18.

 

Note: The registration D-AEWA was later re-used on a Eurowings A320-214/S.

 

First flown in May-90 with the British Aerospace test registration G-6-163, this aircraft was originally ordered for Discovery Airways (USA) as N885DV but the order was cancelled and the aircraft was stored.

 

In Apr-91 it was registered to British Aerospace as G-BTJG and transferred to Trident Aviation Leasing in Jun-91. It was leased to Meridiana Air (Spain) with the temporary Spanish registration EC-876 in Nov-91, becoming EC-FIU in Feb-92.

 

It didn't stay with Meridiana for long and was returned to the lessor in Aug-92, becoming G-BTJG again in Sep-92. It was re-registered again in Jan-94 as G-3-163. The aircraft was leased to Crossair (Switzerland) as HB-IXY in Apr-94. It returned to the lessor in Jan-96.

 

The aircraft sold at Claeno Leasing International, leased to the Asset Management Organisation and sub-leased to Eurowings as D-AEWA Mar-96. It was operated on behalf of Lufthansa Regional and later appeared in LH Regional livery with the 'spotty' tail.

 

It was returned to Trident Aviation Leasing as G-BTJG in Feb-10 and stored at Southend, UK. It was broken up there in Dec-11. Updated 05-Mar-22.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 06-Nov-22.

 

Leased to Mexican start-up Aladia for winter 2006/07, this reverted to its original UK registration, G-JMCE, on return.

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N1795B, this aircraft was delivered to GATX and leased to jmc AIR as G-JMCE in Jun-00. It was wet-leased to Ryan International Airlines, operating for Apple Vacations (USA), between Dec-01/Apr-02, Dec-02/Apr-03 (jmc Air had officially been renamed Thomas Cook Airlines on 31-Mar-03) and again between Dec-03/May-04 and Dec-04/May-05.

 

In Nov-06 the aircraft was sub-leased to Aladia,com (Mexico) as XA-JPB, it returned to Thomas Cook in May-07. For two winter seasons, Nov-10/Apr-11 & Dec-11/Apr-12, the aircraft was sub-leased to Jazz Air (Canada) as C-GJZH and operated on behalf of Thomas Cook Canada. In Jan-14 it was wet-leased to Thomas Cook Scandinavia and returned to Thomas Cook UK in Apr-14.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor in May-15 and was stored at Southend, UK. It was sold to Wells Fargo Bank Northwest as N169CR in Aug-15, as trustee for Shun Feng Airlines (SF Airlines, China). It was transferred to SF Airlines three weeks later as B-7082 and ferried to Xiamen, China in Sep-15. It was converted to freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door in Dec-15. The aircraft entered service with SF Airlines in early Jan-16. Current, updated 30-Jul-21.

 

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 02-Mar-14.

 

Diversion day, fog in the south of England...

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N6055X, this aircraft was delivered to British Airways as G-BDXO in Apr-87. It was withdrawn from service in Oct-01 and initially stored at the British Airways Engineering facility at Cardiff, Wales, UK.

 

It was moved to Mojave, CA, USA in Jan-02. The aircraft was sold to European Skybus Ltd in Mar-03 and came back across the Atlantic to be stored at Manston, Kent, UK in basic British Airways livery with the 'Paithani' tail.

 

It was leased to European Skybus' associate company European Aviation Air Charter in Dec-03 and repainted all white with 'European' titles and a blue tail with 'Euroflag' stars.

 

However, it never entered service and was returned to European Skybus in Oct-04 (I guess there must have been a good reason why BA got rid of it after only 14 years). The aircraft was ferried to Amsterdam, Netherlands later the same month and stored.

 

It was broken up there in Nov-05. The flight deck section was taken by road to ROC Hoofdorp (an aviation related training school ?) on 22-Dec-05.

You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow

 

Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow

And when it's time, you'll know

 

You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine

- Katy Perry, Firework

 

Had one of my prints on the front page of etsy today and in the etsy newsletter too. :) Joel says I'm "etsy famous." Hopefully that will lead to more sales so I can cover the cost of the prints I'm making for the Ann Arbor Art Fair. :)

 

Shannon asked me the other day whether I thought it was possible that my choice to set an alarm every day and start working on my book like it was my job during the time when my "real job" was at a standstill and producing no work or income for me might be what led to the successes that seem to be starting to trickle my way now. I think the answer is yes. I could very easily have let myself slip into another bout of depression, not left the house, and felt like a failure. Instead, I focused on what I could control. I started aggressively chasing dreams that I've been sitting on for a while. As a result, I'm pulling in some real income from my photography now and I have 228 pages of my book written and ideas for at least two more. I'm going on a road trip out to Maine to spend almost a week in the town that is the setting for my book so that I can hopefully finish the story and add some vital details that really make the town come to life for my readers. My "real job" is starting to fire back up, so when I get home I'll have actual work to do. I'm also going to be showing my photography during the Ann Arbor Art Fair and for who knows how many more weekend/week events after that. I never thought that half of that was possible.

 

Maybe I didn't go about it the traditional way. Maybe there were some that scoffed at my choice to write when I did. But from where I'm standing now, I can only see the benefits of following my heart. I may not be in a 100% financially stable situation yet...but I know I'm on my way. And I'll get there eventually. And I don't think I would have been able to say that with such confidence if I hadn't started working on my book when I did. And I certainly wouldn't feel as sure of myself as I do now.

 

etsy

 

Musically Challenged: Katy Perry - Firework

Again, sadly I cut the end of the train out but there is enough to enjoy, I hope.

You may have noted that there is some discolouration in one corner or another in most images? This was a fault in the Practica camera I had at the time. With insufficient funds to replace it, I would use black tape to cover the gaps at the back of the camera. I have used various editing tools to try to disguise these but close inspection does give evidence of manipulation away.

 

I am thankful for the tools at hand today because such images may have been simply thrown away!

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 19-Apr-18.

 

This aircraft was delivered to Air France as F-GBYK in Apr-83. It was sold to a lessor in Jun-99 and leased back to Air France. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Sep-00 and sold to Triton Aviation Services as N242TR the same day. It was leased to Austral Lineas Aereas (Argentina) as LV-PIS in Nov-00 and was re-registered LV-ZXB the following month. In Nov-03 it was returned to the lessor and leased to Aerolineas Argentinas in Dec-03. The aircraft was permanently retired at Buenos Aries - Ezeiza International in Nov-09. It was auctioned off for scrap in Jul-11 and subsequently broken up.

Replacing an earlier scanned 6"x4" print with a better version 02-Oct-21 (De Noise AI). Taken through glass with some reflections.

 

First flown with the Fokker test registration PH-EZE, this aircraft was leased to BMA British Midland |Airways as G-BVJA in Apr-94.

 

It was sold to East Midlands Aircraft Finance BV in Dec-98 while the lease to British Midland continued. The airline was renamed 'bmi british midland' in Feb-01.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor and sold to Skywest Airlines (Australia) as VH-FNJ in Apr-04. Skywest was renamed Virgin Australia Regional in May-13. Current, updated 02-Oct-21.

And on the second weekend of the year, I take my two camera bodies out for a bit of churchcrawling.

 

Wingham is a substantial town/village between Dover and Canterbury, and was once the terminus of a branch of the East Kent Light Railway, though the nearby mine failed to produce any coal.

 

It is an attractive place, but is blighted by the main road that cuts the town in half, and it is a busy road too. On the road there are three pubs, and many fine and ancient houses.

 

St Mary sits beside the road, and it skirts the churchyard to the south and east, and despite being on a grand scale, mature trees in the churchyard do well to hide it from view.

 

I did come here many years ago back in the early days of the Kent Church project, and took no more than a handful of shots, I thought I could do better that that this time.

 

It is a church full of grand tombs, memorials and other features that I am looking forward to share with you, most curious of which is a curved passageway that leads from the northeast corner of the Oxenden chapel to the chancel.

 

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An enormous church, picturesquely set at an angle of the village street. It owes its size to the fact that it supported a college of priests in the Middle Ages. During the sixteenth century it was substantially rebuilt, but the north aisle was not replaced, reducing the church to the odd shape we see today. The unusual pillars which divide the nave from the south aisle are of timber, not stone as a result of lack of money. At the end of the south aisle is the Oxenden chapel, which contains that family's excellent bull's head monument. The contemporary metalwork screens and black and white pavements add great dignity to this part of the building. By going through a curved passage from the chapel you can emerge in the chancel, which is dominated by a stone reredos of fifteenth-century date. This French construction was a gift to the church in the 1930s and while it is not good quality carving, is an unusual find in a Kent church.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Wingham

 

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hortly after 1280AD Archbishop Peckham of Canterbury established a college of priests at Wingham, with a provost and six canons. From 1286 the priests lived in the attractive timber-framed house opposite St Mary's church. The college accounts for the size of the church, which seems enormous considering the present size of Wingham itself.

 

There was a cruciform church here before the college was established, but that building was remodelled around 1290, leaving us several excellent Geometric Gothic windows. A south porch and tower were added around 1400. The porch is curious in that there are two stories externally, but internally only one. There are many reminders of the church's past, however; the arch between the south transept and south nave aisle is late Norman, as is a blocked arch on the west wall of the north transept.

 

By the early 16th century the nave was in poor condition. A local brewer named George Ffogarde of Canterbury was granted a license to raise money for its repair. Having a considerable sum of money for church repair, the unscrupulous brewer absconded with the funds, embezzling £224, a huge sum for the time. The missing funds may explain why the nave was rebuilt using cheaper timber posts to support the arcades, rather than more costly stone.

 

The octagonal timber posts are of chestnut wood, topped by a crown-post timber roof. Sometime before the mid-19th century the timbers were encased in plaster to resemble Doric columns, but thankfully the plaster has been stripped off and we can appreciate the timber! The nave was rebuilt in the late 16th century, diminishing its footprint and leaving behind some rather odd features, like an external piscina on what was originally the easternmost pier of the nave arcade. Another odd touch is provided by the north transept, remodelled with wood frames in the Georgian period. I'm not sure I can call to mind another essentially medieval church with wooden-framed windows!

 

In the chancel is a lovely 14th century triple-seat sedilia and piscina. The chancel and nave are separated by a 15th century screen, now truncated, with blank panels which must have once boasted painted figures of saints. But the real treasure in the chancel is a series of ten 14th century misericords. Six of the misericord carvings are simply decorative, with floral or foliage designs. Two show animals; one appears to be a horse, another a donkey. The final two carvings are the most interesting; one shows a woman in a wimple, the other a Green Man peering out from a screen of foliage.

 

Behind the altar is a lovely 15th century reredos, brought here from Troyes in France. The reredos is in two sections, the upper section depicting the Passion of Christ, the lower showing the Last Supper and the Adoration of the Kings. There are small fragments of rather attractive 14th century grisailles glass in the chancel windows, and near the font are a number of surviving medieval floor tiles.

 

The interior is full of monuments to the Oxenden and Palmer families. The finest of these are to be found in the north transept chapel. On the east wall of the chapel is a memorial to Sir Nicholas Palmer (d. 1624). The memorial was designed by Nicholas Stone and shows effigies of Palmer and his wife under Corinthian columns and an open pediment. On the north wall is the monument to a later Thomas Palmer (d. 1656) with a bust of the deceased, now somewhat the worse for wear. A tablet to Streynsham Master (d. 1718) is on the south chapel wall, and has a fairly typical pair of skulls at the base of the tablet, wreathed in olive branches.

 

The most extravagant and eye-catching memorial in the church, however, is to be found in the north transept chapel, which is guarded by ornate wrought-iron screens. In the centre of the chapel is an ebullient obelisk, dated 1682, commemorating the Oxenden family. This free-standing obelisk, possibly designed by Arnold Quellin, is of white stone, with exquisite fruit and flowers cascading down each side, with large black ox heads at each angle of the base. The base is embellished with four putti (cherubic 'infants'). The effect is quite extraordinary; most people will either love it or hate it (I loved it). Also in the south transept is a wall tablet to Charles Tripp (d. 1624).

Other monuments worth mentioning include a 14th century tomb recess in the south aisle wall and a number of 15th century indents in the chancel floor which once contained memorial brasses to canons.

 

The church is set within a large walled enclosure, dating to the 16th and 17th centuries. Unusually, the churchyard wall has been listed Grade-II by the Department of the Environment for its historical interest.

 

www.britainexpress.com/counties/kent/churches/wingham.htm

 

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WINGHAM

IS the next adjoining parish south-westward from Ash, situated for the most part in the upper half hundred of the same name, and having in it the boroughs of Wingham-street, Deane, Twitham, and Wenderton, which latter is in the lower half hundred of Wingham.

 

WINGHAM is situated in a healthy pleasant country, the greatest part of it is open uninclosed arable lands, the soil of which, though chalky, is far from being unfertile. The village, or town of Wingham, is nearly in the middle of the parish, having the church and college at the south-west part of it; behind the latter is a field, still called the Vineyard. The village contains about fifty houses, one of which is the court-lodge, and is built on the road leading from Canterbury to Sandwich, at the west end of it runs the stream, called the Wingham river, which having turned a corn-mill here, goes on and joins the Lesser Stour, about two miles below; on each side the stream is a moist tract of meadow land. Near the south boundary of the parish is the mansion of Dene, situated in the bottom, a dry, though dull and gloomy habitation; and at the opposite side, next to Staple, the ruinated mansion of Brook, in a far more open and pleasant situation. To the northward the parish extends a considerable way, almost as far as the churches of Preston and Elmstone. The market, granted anno 36 king Henry III. as mentioned hereafter, if it ever was held, has been disused for a number of years past; though the market-house seems yet remaining. There are two fairs held yearly here, on May 12, and November 12, for cattle and pedlary.

 

In 1710 there was found on the court-lodge farm, by the plough striking against it, a chest or coffin, of large thick stones, joined together, and covered with a single one at the top. At the bottom were some black ashes, but nothing else in it. The ground round about was searched, but nothing else was sound.

 

Henry de Wengham, a person of great note and extraordinary parts, and much in favour with Henry III. was born here, who in 1255 made him lord chancellor. In 1259, he was elected bishop of Winchester, which he resused, but towards the latter end of the same year he was chosen bishop of London, being still chancellor, and was consecrated the beginning of the year following. He died in 1262, and was buried in his own cathedral. He bore for his arms, Gules, a heart between two wings, displayed, or.

 

WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ. eldest son of Sir William Cowper, bart. of Ratling-court, in Nonington, having been made lord-keeper of the great seal in 1705, was afterwards by letters patent, dated Dec. 14, 1706, created lord Cowper, baron Cowper of Wingham; and in 1709, was declared lord chancellor. After which, anno 4 George I. he was created earl Cowper and viscount Fordwich, in whose descendants these titles have continued down to the right hon. Peter-Lewis-Francis Cowper, the fifth and present earl Cowper, viscount Fordwich and baron of Wingham. (fn. 1)

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM was part of the antient possessions of the see of Canterbury, given to it in the early period of the Saxon heptarchy, but being torn from it during the troubles of those times, it was restored to the church in the year 941, by king Edmund, his brother Eadred, and Edwin that king's son. (fn. 2) Accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of the archbishop's possessions, taken in the survey of Domesday:

 

In the lath of Estrei, in Wingeham hundred, the archbishop himself holds Wingeham in demesne. It was taxed at forty sulings in the time of king Edward the Consessor, and now for thirty-five. The arable land is . . . . . . In demesne there are eight carucates, and four times twenty and five villeins, with twenty borderers having fifty-seven carucates. There are eight servants, and two mills of thirty-four sulings. Wood for the pannage of five hogs, and two small woods for fencing. In its whole value, in the time of king Edward the Consessor, it was worth seventy-seven pounds, when he received it the like, and now one hundred pounds. Of this manor William de Arcis holds one suling in Fletes, and there be has in demesne one carucate, and four villeins, and one knight with one carucate, and one fisbery, with a saltpit of thirty pence. The whole value is forty shillings. Of this ma nor five of the archbishop's men hold five sulings and an half and three yokes, and there they have in demesne eight carucates, and twenty-two borderers, and eight servants. In the whole they are worth twenty-one pounds.

 

In the 36th year of king Henry III. archbishop Boniface obtained the grant of a market at this place. The archbishops had a good house on this manor, in which they frequently resided. Archbishop Baldwin, in king Henry II.'s reign, staid at his house here for some time during his contention with the monks of Christ-church, concerning his college at Hackington. Archbishop Winchelsea entertained king Edward I. here in his 23d year, as did archbishop Walter Reynolds king Edward II. in his 18th year. And king Edward III. in his 5th year, having landed at Dover, with many lords and nobles in his train, came to Wingham, where he was lodged and entertained by archbishop Meopham. And this manor continued part of the see of Canterbury till archbishop Cranmer, in the 29th year of king Henry VIII. exchanged it with the king for other premises. After which it continued in the crown till king Charles I. in his 5th year, granted the scite, called Wingham court, with the demesne lands of the manor, to trustees, for the use of the city of London. From whom, by the direction of the mayor and commonalty, it was conveyed, at the latter end of that reign, to Sir William Cowper, knight and baronet, in whose descendants it has continued down to the right hon. Peter-Francis Cowper, earl Cowper, who is the present owner of it. (fn. 3)

 

BUT THE MANOR ITSELF, with the royalties, profits of courts, &c. remained still in the crown. Since which, the bailiwic of it, containing the rents and pro fits of the courts, with the fines, amerciaments, reliess, &c. and the privilege of holding the courts of it, by the bailiff of it, have been granted to the family of Oxenden, and Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome, is now in possession of the bailiwic of it. A court leet and court baron is held for this manor.

 

TRAPHAM is a mansion in this parish, which was formerly in the possession of a family of the same name, who resided at it, but after they were extinct it passed into that of Trippe, who bore for their arms, Gules, a chevron, or, between three borses heads erased, sable, bridled, collared and crined of the second; (fn. 4) and John Tripp, esq. resided here in queen Elizabeth's reign, as did his grandson Charles, who seems to have alienated it to Sir Christopher Harflete, of St. Stephen's, whose son Tho. Harflete, esq. left an only daughter and heir Afra, who carried it in marriage to John St. Leger, esq. of Doneraile, in Ireland, descended from Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland in Henry VIII.'s reign, and they joined in the alienation of it to Brook Bridges, esq of the adjoining parish of Goodneston, whose descendant Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. of that place, is the present owner of it.

 

The MANOR OF DENE, situated in the valley, at the southern boundary of this parish, was antiently the inheritance of a family who took their surname from it, and held it by knight's service of the archbishop, in king Edward I's reign, but they seem to have been extinct here in that of king Edward III. After which it passed into the family of Hussey, who bore for their arms, Per chevron, argent and vert, three birds counterchanged; and then to Wood, before it came by sale into the family of Oxenden, who appear to have been possessed of it at the latter end of Henry VI.'s reign, about which time they had become by marriage, owners of Brook and other estates in this parish. The family of Oxenden have been resident in this county from the reign of king Edward III. Solomon Oxenden, being the first mentioned in the several pedigrees of it, whose near relation Richard Oxenden was prior of Christchurch, Canterbury, in that reign; in this name and family of Oxenden, whose arms were Argent, a chevron, gules, between three oxen, sable, armed, or; which coat was confirmed to the family by Gyan, king at arms, anno 24 Henry VI. this manor and seat continued down to Sir Henry Oxenden, of Dene, who was on May 8, 1678, created a baronet, whose youngest grandson Sir George Oxenden, bart. succeeding at length to the title on the death of his eldest brother Sir Henry, resided at Dene, where he died in 1775, having served in parliament for Sandwich, and been employed in high offices in administration, and leaving behind him the character of a compleat gentleman. He married Elizabeth, one of the daughters and coheirs of Edward Dunck, esq. of Little Wittenham, in Berkshire, by whom he had two sons, of whom George, the second, was made by will heir to the estate of Sir Basil Dixwell, bart. of Brome, on his death, s. p. and changed his name to Dixwell as enjoined by it, but died soon afterwards likewise, s. p. and that estate came at length to his eldest brother Henry, who succeeded his father in the title of Baronet. He married Margaret, daughter and coheir of Sir George Chudleigh, bart. of Devonshire, since deceased, by whom he has issue Henry Oxenden, esq. of Madekyn, in Barham, who married Mary, one of the daughters of Col. Graham, of St. Laurence, near Canterbury, by whom he has issue. Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. now resides at Brome, and is the present possessor of this manor and seat, as well as the rest of his father's estates in this parish. (fn. 5) Lady Hales, widow of Sir Thomas Pym Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, now resides in it.

 

TWITHAM, now usually called Twittam, is a hamlet in this parish, adjoining to Goodneston, the principal estate in which once belonged to a family of that name, one of whom Alanus de Twitham is recorded as having been with king Richard I. at the siege of Acon, in Palestine, who bore for his arms, Semee of crosscroslets, and three cinquesoils, argent, and held this estate in Twitham, of the archbishop, and they appear to have continued possessed of it in the 3d year of king Richard II. Some time after which it came into the possession of Fineux, and William Fineux sold it anno 33 Henry VIII. to Ingram Wollet, whose heirs passed it away to one of the family of Oxenden, of Wingham, in whose descendants it has continued down to Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome, the present possessor of it.

 

On the foundation of the college of Wingham, archbishop Peckham, in 1286, endowed the first diaconal prebend in it, which he distinguished by the name of the prebend of Twitham, with the tithes of the lands of Alanus de Twitham, which he freely held of the archbishop there in Goodwynestone, at Twytham. (fn. 6)

 

BROOK is an estate in this parish, situated northward from Twitham, which was formerly the estate of the Wendertons, of Wenderton, in this parish, in which it remained till by a female heir Jane, it went in marriage to Richard Oxenden, gent. of Wingham, who died in 1440, and was buried in Wingham church, in whose name and family it continued down to Henry Oxenden, of Brook, who left two daughters and coheirs, of whom Mary married Richard Oxenden, of Grays Inn, barrister-at-law, fourth son of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart, who afterwards, on his wife's becoming sole heiress of Brook, possessed it, and resided here. He left Elizabeth his sole daughter and heir, who carried it in marriage to Streynsham Master, esq. a captain in the royal navy, the eldest surviving son of James Master, esq. of East Langdon, who died some few days after his marriage; upon which she became again possessed of it in her own right, and dying in 1759, s. p. gave it by will to Henry Oxenden, esq. now Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome, and he is the present owner of it.

 

WENDERTON is a manor and antient seat, situated northward from Wingham church, eminent, says Philipott, for its excellent air, situation, and prospect, which for many successive generations had owners of that surname, one of whom, John de Wenderton, is mentioned in Fox's Martyrology, as one among other tenants of the manor of Wingham, on whom archbishop Courtnay, in 1390, imposed a penance for neglecting to perform some services due from that manor. In his descendants this seat continued till John Wenderton, of Wenderton, in the 1st year of Henry VIII. passed it away to archbishop Warham, who at his decease in 1533, gave it to his youngest brother John Warham, whose great-grandson John, by his will in 1609, ordered this manor to be sold, which it accordingly soon afterwards was to Manwood, from which name it was alienated, about the middle of the next reign of king Charles I. to Vincent Denne, gent. who resided here, and died in 1642, s. p. whose four nieces afterwards became by will possessed of it, and on the partition of their estates, the manor and mansion, with part of the lands since called Great Wenderton, was allotted to Mary, the youngest of them, who afterwards married Vincent Denne, sergeant-at-law, and the remaining part of it, which adjoins to them, since called Little Wenderton, to Dorothy, the third sister, afterwards married to Roger Lukin, gent. of London, who soon afterwards sold his share to Richard Oxenden, esq. of Brook, from one of which family it was sold to Underdown, by a female heir of which name, Frances, it went in marriage to John Carter, esq. of Deal, the present owner of it.

 

BUT GREAT WENDERTON continued in the possession of Sergeant Denne, till his death in 1693, when Dorothy, his eldest daughter and coheir, carried it in marriage to Mr. Thomas Ginder, who bore Argent, on a pale, sable, a cross fuchee, or, impaling azure, three lions heads, or; as they are on his monument. He resided at it till his death in 1716, as did his widow till her decease in 1736, when it came to her nephew Mr. Thomas Hatley, who left two daughters his coheirs, the eldest surviving of whom, Anne, carried it in marriage, first to Richard Nicholas, esq. and then successively to Mr. Smith and Mr. James Corneck, of London, and Mrs. Corneck, the widow of the latter, is the present possessor of it.

 

At the boundary of this parish, adjoining to Preston and Ash, lies THE MANOR OF WALMESTONE, usually called Wamston, which was antiently part of the possessions of the family of Septvans, one of whom, Robert de Septvans, held it in king Edward II.'s reign, of the archbishop; whose descendant Sir William de Septvans died possessed of it in the 25th year of that reign. (fn. 7) How long it continued in this name I have not found; but at the beginning of king Edward IV.'s reign it was become the property of William Bonington, of Canterbury, who died in 1463, and directed it by his will to be sold. After which it became, about the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, the property of Walter Hendley, esq. the king's attorney-general, who left three daughters his coheirs, and they joined in the sale of it to Alday, who alienated it to Benedict Barnham, esq. alderman of London, one of whose daughters and coheirs, Elizabeth, carried it in marriage to Mervin Touchet, earl of Castlehaven, who being convicted of high crimes and misdemeanors, was executed anno 7 Charles I. Soon after which this manor seems to have been divided, and one part of it, since called Little Walmestone, in which was included the manor and part of the demesne lands, passed from his heirs to the Rev. John Smith, rector of Wickham Breaus, who having founded a scholarship at Oxford, out of the lands of it, presently afterwards sold it to Solly, of Pedding, in which name it continued till Stephen Solly, gent. of Pedding, and his two sons, John and Stephen, in 1653, joined in the conveyance of it to Thomas Winter, yeoman, of Wingham, in which name it remained for some time. At length, after some intermediate owners, it was sold to Sympson, and John Sympson, esq. of Canterbury, died possessed of it in 1748, leaving his wife surviving, who held it at her decease, upon which it came to her husband's heir-atlaw, and it is now accordingly in the possession of Mr. Richard Simpson.

 

BUT GREAT WALMESTONE, consisting of the mansion-house, with a greater part of the demesne lands of the manor, was passed away by the heirs of the earl of Castlehaven to Brigham, and Mr. Charles Brigham, of London, in the year 1653, sold it to William Rutland, of London, who left two daughters his coheirs, of whom Mary married John Ketch, by whom she had a sole daughter Anne, who afterwards at length became possessed of it, and carried it in marriage to Samuel Starling, gent. of Worcestershire, who in 1718, conveyed it, his only son Samuel joining in it, to Thomas Willys, esq. of London, afterwards created a baronet. After which it passed in the same manner, and in the like interests and shares, as the manor of Dargate, in Hernehill, down to Matthew, Robert and Thomas Mitchell, the trustees for the several uses to which this, among other estates belonging to the Willis's, had been limited; and they joined in the sale of it, in 1789, to Mr. William East, whose son, Mr. John East, of Wingham, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP KILWARBY intended to found a college in this church of Wingham, but resigning his archbishopric before he could put his design in practice, archbishop Peckham, his successor, in the year 1286, perfected his predecessor's design, and founded A COLLEGE in this church, for a provost, whose portion, among other premises, was the profits of this church and the vicarage of it, and six secular canons; the prebends of which he distinguished by the names of the several places from whence their respective portions arose, viz. Chilton, Pedding, Twitham, Bonnington, Ratling, and Wimlingswold. The provost's lodge, which appears by the foundation charter to have before been the parsonage, was situated adjoining to the church-yard; and the houses of the canons, at this time called Canon-row, opposite to it. These latter houses are, with their gardens and appurtenances, esteemed to be within the liberty of the town and port of Hastings, and jurisdiction of the cinque ports. This college was suppressed in the 1st year of king Edward VI. among others of the like sort, when the whole revenue of it was valued at 208l. 14s. 3½d. per annum, and 193l. 2s. 1d. clear; but Leland says, it was able to dispend at the suppression only eighty-four pounds per annum. Edward Cranmer, the last master, had at the dissolution a pension of twenty pounds per annum, which he enjoyed in 1553. (fn. 8)

 

After the dissolution of the college, the capital mansion, late belonging to the provost, remained in the crown till king Edward VI. in his 7th year, granted the scite of it, with the church appropriate of Wingham, and all tithes whatsoever arising within the parish, and one acre of glebe-land in it, to Sir Henry Palmer, subject to a payment of twenty pounds annually to the curate or vicar of it.

 

The Palmers of Wingham were descended from a very antient one at Angmerin, in Suffex, who bore for their arms, Or, two bars, gules, each charged with three tresoils of the field, in chief, a greyhound, currant, sable. In the seventh descent from Ralph Palmer, esq. of that place, in king Edward II.'s reign, was descended Sir Edward Palmer, of Angmerin, who left three sons, born on three successive Sundays, of whom John, the eldest, was of Sussex, which branch became extinct in queen Elizabeth's reign; Sir Henry, the second son, was of Wingham; and Sir Thomas, the youngest, was beheaded in queen Mary's reign. Sir Henry Palmer, the second son, having purchased the grant of the college of Wingham, as before-mentioned, made it the seat of his residence, as did his son Sir Thomas Palmer, who was sheriff anno 37 Elizabeth, and created a baronet in 1621. He so constantly resided at Wingham, that he is said to have kept sixty Christmases, without intermission, in this mansion, with great hospitality. He had three sons, each of whom were knighted. From the youngest of whom, Sir James, descended the Palmers, of Dauney, in Buckinghamshire, who upon the eldest branch becoming extinct, have succeeded to the title of baronet; and by his second wife he had Roger Palmer, earl of Castlemain. Sir Thomas Palmer, the eldest of the three brothers, died in his father's life-time, and left Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, heir to his grandfather; in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, this mansion, with the parsonage of Wingham appropriate, continued down to Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, who died possessed of it in 1723, having had three wives; by the first he had four daughters; by the second he had a son Herbert, born before marriage, and afterwards a daughter Frances; the third was Mrs. Markham, by whom he had no issue; and she afterwards married Thomas Hey, esq. whom she likewise survived. Sir Thomas Palmer, by his will, gave this seat, with the parsonage appropriate and tithes of Wingham, inter alia, after his widow's decease, to his natural son Herbert Palmer, esq. above-mentioned, who married Bethia, fourth daughter of Sir Thomas D'Aeth, bart. of Knolton. He died in 1760, s. p. and by will devised his interest in the reversion of this seat, with the parsonage, to his wife Bethia, for her life, and afterwards to his sister Mrs. Frances Palmer, in tail. But he never had possession of it, for lady Palmer furvived him, on whose death in 1763, Mrs. Bethia Palmer, his widow, became entitled to it, and afterwards married John Cosnan, esq. who died in 1773. She survived him, and resided here till her death in 1789. In the intermediate time, Mrs. Frances Palmer having barred the entail made by her natural brother Herbett above-mentioned, died, having devised the see of this estate, by her will in 1770, to the Rev. Thomas Hey, rector of Wickhambreaux, and his heirs, being the eldest son of the last lady Palmer by her last husband. Mr. Hey accordingly, on the death of Mrs. Cosnan, who died s. p. succeeded to this seat and estate. He married first Ethelreda, eldest daughter and coheir of dean Lynch, since deceased, by whom he has no surviving issue; and secondly, Mrs. Pugett, widow of Mr. Puget, of London. He now resides in this seat of Wingham college, having been created D. D. and promoted to a prebend of the church of Rochester.

 

Charities.

JOHN CHURCH, yeoman, of this parish, in 1604, gave 1cl. to the poor, to distribute yearly at Easter, 10s. to the poor for the interest of it.

 

HECTOR DU MONT, a Frenchman, born in 1632, gave the silver cup and patten for the holy communion.

 

SIR GEORGE OXENDEN, president for the East-India Company at Surat, in 1660, gave the velvet cushion and pulpitcloth.

 

JOHN RUSHBEACHER, gent. of this parish, in 1663, gave five acres of land in Woodnesborough, the rents to be annually distributed to ten of the meaner sort of people of Wingham, not receiving alms of the parish, now of the yearly value of 4l.

 

SIR GEORGE OXENDEN, above-mentioned, in 1682, gave 500l. for the repairing and beautifying this church, and the Dene chancel.

 

SIR JAMES OXENDEN, knight and baronet, of Dene, founded and endowed a school in this parish with 16l. per annum for ever, for teaching twenty poor children reading and writing, now in the patronage of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart.

 

RICHARD OXENDEN, esq. of Brook, in 1701, gave an annuity of 4l. for ever, to the minister, for the reading of divine service and preaching a sermon, in this church, on every Wednesday in Lent, and on Good Friday; and he at the same time gave 20s. yearly for ever, to be distributed, with the consent of the heirs of the Brook estate, to eight poor people, who should be at divine service on Easter-day, to be paid out of the lands of Brook, now vested in Sir Henry Oxenden, bart.

 

THOMAS PALMER, esq. of St. Dunstan's in the East, London, gave 300l for the repairing, adorning and beautifying the great chancel of this church.

 

MRS. ELIZABETH MASTER, esq. relict of Strensham Master, of Brook, in 1728, gave the large silver flaggon; and MRS. SYBILLA OXENDEN, spinster, of Brook, at the same time gave a large silver patten for the communion.

 

Besides the above benefactions, there have been several lesser ones given at different times in money, both to the poor and for the church. All which are recorded in a very handsome table in the church, on which are likewise painted the arms of the several benefactors

 

There are about forty poor constantly relieved, and casually twenty.

 

THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is exempt from the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Mary. It is a handsome building, consisting of two isles and three chancels, having a slim spire steeple at the west end, in which is a peal of eight bells and a clock. The church consists of two isles and three chancels. The former appear to have been built since the reformation; the latter are much more antient. It is handsome and well built; the pillars between the isles, now cased with wood, are slender and well proportioned. The outside is remarkably beautiful in the flint-work, and the windows throughout it, were regular and handsomely disposed, superior to other churches, till later repairs destroyed their uniformity. The windows were formerly richly ornamented with painted glass, the remains of which are but small. In the south window, in old English letters, is Edward Warham, gentill . . . . of making this window . . . . and underneath the arms of Warham. In the north isle is a brass tablet for Christopher Harris, curate here, and rector of Stourmouth, obt. Nov. 24, 1719. Over the entrance from this isle into the high chancel, is carved on the partition, the Prince of Wales's badge and motto. In the south wall is a circular arch, plain, seemingly over a tomb. A monument for T. Ginder, gent. obt. 1716. In the south east window the arms of Warham. A memorial for Vincent Denne, gent. of Wenderton, obt. 1642. In the high chancel are seven stalls on each side. On the pavement are several stones, robbed of their brasses, over the provosts and religious of the college. A stone, coffin-shaped, and two crosses pomelle, with an inscription round in old French capitals, for master John de Sarestone, rector, ob. XII Kal. May MCCLXXI. Several monuments and memorials for the family of Palmer. The south chancel is called the Dene chancel, belonging to that seat, under which is a vault, in which the family of Oxenden, owners of it, are deposited. In the middle, on the pavement, is a very costly monument, having at the corners four large black oxens beads, in allusion to their name and arms. It was erected in 1682. On the four tablets on the base is an account of the family of Oxenden, beginning with Henry, who built Denehouse, and ending with Dr. Oxenden, dean of the arches, who died in 1704. There are monuments in it likewise for the Trippes. The north chancel is called the Brook chancel, as belonging to that seat, in which are monuments for the Oxendens and Masters's of this seat. This chancel is shut out from the church, and is made use of as a school-room, by which means the monuments are much desaced, and the gravestones, from the filth in it, have become wholly obliterated. On one of these stones was a brass plate, now gone, for Henry Oxenden, esq. who built Dene, obt. 1597.

 

Elizabeth, daughter of the marquis of Juliers, and widow of John, son of Edmund of Woodstock, earl of Kent, after being solemnly veiled a nun, quitted her prosession, and was clandestinely married to Sir Eustace de Danbrichescourt, in a chapel of the mansion-house of Robert de Brome, a canon of this collegiate church, in 1360; for which she and her husband were enjoined different kinds of penance during their lives, which is well worth the reading, for the uncommon superstitious mockery of them. (fn. 9)

 

At the time of the reformation, the church was partly collegiate, and partly parochial. The high chancel, separated from the rest of the church by a partition, served for the members of the college to perform their quire service in. The two isles of the church were for the parishioners, who from thence could hear the quire service; and in the north isle was a roodlost, where one of the vicars went up and read the gospel to the people. At which time, I find mention of a parish chancel likewise.

 

The church of Wingham formerly comprehended not only this parish, but those likewise of Ash, Goodnestone, Nonington, and Wimlingswold; but archbishop Peckham, in 1282, divided them into four distinct parochial churches, and afterwards appropriated them to his new-founded college of Wingham, with a saving to them of certain portions which the vicars of them were accustomed to receive. The profits of this church and the vicarage of it, together with the parsonage-house, being thus appropriated and allotted to the provost, as part of his portion and maintenance, the archbishop, in order that the church should be duly served, by his foundation charter, ordered, that the provost and canons should each of them keep a vicar who should constantly serve in it. In which state it continued till the suppression of the college, in the 1st year of king Edward VI. when it came, among the rest of the revenues of the college, into the hands of the crown, where this parsonage appropriate, to which was annexed, the nomination of the perpetual curate serving in this church, remained till it was granted by king Edward VI. in his 7th year, to Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. Since which it has continued in like manner, together with the scite of the college, as has been already mentioned, to the Rev. Dr. Hey, who is the present possessor of this parsonage, together with the patronage of the perpetual curacy of the church of Wingham.

 

In 1640 the communicants here were three hundred and sixty-one.

 

¶The curacy is endowed with a stipend of twenty pounds per annum, paid by the owner of the parsonage, and reserved to the curate in the original grant of the college by king Edward VI. and with four pounds per annum, being the Oxenden gift before mentioned; besides which, the stipend of the resident curate, and his successors, was increased in 1797, by a liberal benefaction made by the Rev. Dr. Hey, of one hundred pounds per annum, clear of all deductions, to be paid out of the parsonage, and of a house, garden, and piece of pasture land adjoining, for the curate's use, both which were settled by him on trustees for that purpose.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp224-241

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 05-Jan-25

 

The early version of Ryanair's livery.

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N1786B, this aircraft was delivered to Ryanair as EI-CSF in May-00. Blended winglets were added and 'eyebrow windows' were removed in Jan-07.

 

The aircraft was sold to CIT Aerospace International in Mar-08 and immediately leased to The IMP Group Ltd, trading as CanJet Airlines as C-FTCX. It was sub-leased to Travel Service Airlines (Czech Republic) as OK-TSJ in May-15 for the European summer season.

 

In Sep-15, The IMP Group made the decision to close down CanJet's own flight operations due to high losses, retaining some of the aircraft for sub-lease to other airlines. OK-TSJ was returned to IMP Group/CanJet in Nov-15, becoming C-FTCX again.

 

It was sub-leased to Air Transat in Dec-15 for the winter season, returning to IMP Group/CanJet in May-16. At the end of May-16 the aircraft was re-registered SP-ENO and sub-leased to Enter Air, Slovak Republic.

 

It was sold to Avolon Aerospace in Apr-17 while the lease to Enter Air continued. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and parked at Warsaw, Poland(?) at the end Oct-23. It was ferried to Knock, Ireland at the end of Nov-23 and stored.

 

It was returned to the lessor as EI-CSF, again, in Jan-24. The aircraft was broken up at Knock in Jul-24.

Neville Hill based, Class170 170477 passes Hessay on a familiarisation run, the class is shortly to replace the aged Pacers which have serviced the line for too many years, i am no fan of DMU's but wanted to capture this working for its significance in the development of the line. If I am correct this will be the first 170 to travel over this line.

 

Replaced the previous photo with this one May24th 2012

Replaced Mercerville Acme around a mile away